Instinct
by RedThread
Summary: Kagome sank to her knees and leaned forward to peer into the water at her reflection. Delicate cat ears, golden cat eyes, pointed fangs that glistened. What, did she have a freakin' tail too? She slowly turned around, almost scared to look... Inu/Kag - A Kagome Is A Hanyou Story
1. The Well

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters….I only own the plot of my story.

Read -N- Review please.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One

The small, petite, black- haired girl flung a tantalizing smile over her shoulder. The poor guy didn't stand a chance. She narrowed her eyes and continued to smile.

"Geez Kagome, I said try to smile at him, not stalk him like he's a piece of prey."

Kagome dropped her smile and turned back around to face her three friends. She let out a long-suffering sigh and slumped into her seat. "I give up…Obviously I'm destined to be single forever."

"Way to look on the optimistic side, Kagome," Yuka replied with a sardonic smile as she scanned the restaurant for another unsuspecting male. Her eyes widened as they swept past the doorway and she immediately began nudging Kagome in the ribs with renewed enthusiasm. "Hey, hey….the guy walking in isn't so bad…"

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned back to her food. "Then _you_ can have him Yuka. Believe it or not, I'm _quite_ fine being single…"

Yuka pouted at Kagome's lack of interest for a few moments before letting the matter go and staring at the group of guys who had just settled at a table across from them. Kagome and her other two friends shared a look and grinned. Most outings with Yuka ended up like this.

Today the four girls were relishing a highly-fattening meal at their favorite WacDonalds.

Well…

…all of them except Yuka.

She seemed more into relishing the guys.

Kagome crammed a French-fry in her mouth and leaned her elbows on the table before releasing another sigh. It seemed like her friends (mainly Yuka) were desperate for her to get a boyfriend these days. But, _geez_. What was wrong with being single?

In her opinion it was _so_ much easier. She didn't have to put up with annoying phone calls, unwanted obligations, stress dealing with the "_my boyfriend is so jealous and possessive_" stage that_ all_ relationships eventually went through, or-

"Kagome! Hey! I'm talking to you…"

Kagome snapped her attention back to reality…and Yuka. "Right, sorry…keep talking."

"Anyways," Yuka continued, "I was trying to ask which animal you chose for your story."

_Oh yeah._

She'd forgotten all about that stupid Literature assignment. Right now her class was focusing on descriptive writing, and their first assignment was to write a five paragraph essay. The topic: Decide what kind of animal you would be, if you were one, and then write a descriptive story about an adventure you went on as that animal.

"I chose to do a rabbit," Eri spoke up, "I think it suits me perfectly: we're both cute, and cuddly, and- …"

"What kind of adventure could a rabbit possibly go on?" Yuka criticized.

"It doesn't matter, it's my story. I'll go on any adventure I want to."

"Well I think it-…"

_Blah Blah Blah _

Kagome rolled her eyes and dipped a chicken finger into a blob of ketchup before shoving it into her mouth. Who knew how long this argument would last.

_Oh well, at least they're not trying to set me up with some random stranger…_

Kagome sighed _again_ and went back to moping about her love life…or lack thereof… which, was a good thing, as she had already decided.

"What do you think Kagome?"

"Huh?"

Yuka sighed in exasperation. "I said what do you think about me choosing to do a horse? They're bold, and spirited, and their manes look beautiful when they run," she said, giving her hair a swish to add to the effect.

"That sounds great Yuka….," Kagome said, appeasing her friend so she could finish eating her chicken tender.

"And what animal have you chosen Kagome?"

Kagome shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it yet." Truth was, she just didn't feel like coming up with one. Lately she'd been feeling tired and, well, lazy.

"A cat."

A chorus of "Huhs?" swept around the table.

"I said a cat," Ayumi repeated matter-of-factly. "It fits her perfectly. Kagome's independent… and shy, but curious and bold at times." Ayumi cocked an eyebrow, "Plus she can jump like a friggin' basketball player...I'm telling you," she said as she dipped a French-fry in some ketchup and waved in Kagome's direction, "you're exactly like a cat."

Eri snorted. "And let's not forget her excellent _stalking_ abilities."

A round of giggles broke out, causing Kagome to roll her eyes and grin. "Ha ha," she said dryly.

They sat for a few more minutes, finishing their meals and talking about random topics. But Kagome knew it was time for her to make her escape when the conversation began including the word "boyfriend". She'd had about enough of _that_ today.

She really did need to get home though. She'd promised to help clean the shrine.

"Hey…I'll catch you guys later. I have to get home before Grandpa does… He wants me to clean the shrine with the well in it…." She stood up, still talking. "He thinks the cat may be trapped in there somewhere." Kagome gathered the trash from her chicken tenders and grabbed her Dr. Pepper. "When is that paper due again?"

Yuka smiled and held up two fingers. "Two weeks."

"Right…thanks for your help you guys. I'll see ya later…" Kagome smiled and waved goodbye as she slipped her trash into the trashcan.

Her friends waved back for half a second and then promptly turned back to their chat about boyfriends.

"Lame," Kagome murmured as she pushed through the door. She ignored the way she suddenly felt like an outcast and focused instead on the unpleasant task that awaited her at home.

* * *

"I'm back!" Kagome called as she walked through the door of her small two story house.

She sniffed the air appreciatively. Good. Mama was cooking. She would be starving again by the time she got that stupid shrine cleaned.

Kagome ran up the stairs to her bedroom and flung her backpack on her bed.

_Won't be needing that…._

She quickly changed out of her school uniform into some baggy shorts and an old T-shirt, grabbing a hair band as she walked past her dresser so she could pull her hair back into messy pony tail. She didn't care what she looked like; it wasn't like anyone important was going to see her.

Kagome bounded out of her room and down the stairs in search of her Grandpa, hoping that she had made it home in time. _But first… _She swung through the kitchen to check on her Mom.

"Hey Mama!" she greeted.

"Oh, hello Kagome. I must have missed you when you where coming in. How was school?"

Kagome's mother was a woman of average height with the same dark eyes and dark hair as her daughter.

"Ehh…. about the same as usual. I have a Literature assignment and some Algebra homework, but other than that the day was pretty uneventful."

"Well that's not so bad. Poor Souta got loaded down with homework. I thought the older you were the more homework you got, but apparently I was backwards." Kagome's mother sighed and turned back to her cooking. "I actually think Souta is glad he got homework. It got him out of having to clean the shrine. He's in the living room working on it right now."

Kagome poked her head in the living room suspiciously. Souta was on his belly with homework strewn all about him, eyes glued on the TV. Being the super nice, forgiving, Souta's-going-to-owe-me-big-time, sister that Kagome was, she went back into the kitchen and told her mother that 'Yes, Souta is in the living room doing his homework.'

"Oh by the way Kagome," her mother added, "your Grandpa is waiting out by the shrine for you."

_Shit…I didn't make it…_

Kagome whirled around and sprinted out the door. Grandpa was going to be pissed; he never was a patient man, and who knew how long he'd been waiting for her.

Kagome pulled to a stop in front of the shrine, looking around for the elderly man. She spotted his bent form resting on a bench not too far away. On the ground next to his feet was a bucket of cleaning supplies. Kagome sighed and braced herself for the impending lecture before walking towards her grandfather.

_Wait…_Kagome froze a few feet away from him_. What's that noise?_

She tilted her head in the old man's direction.

_Is he…Is he SNORING?_

She practically fell to the ground with relief…

_I'm saved…he's asleep…_

She looked at the old man and giggled silently. He had a line of drool coming from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto his blue jacket. Other than that his posture stated he was doing nothing more than just sitting there.

Kagome quickly grabbed the bucket and silenced her giggles, deciding that Grandpa actually looked a little creepy. She turned away from him and backed toward the shrine, keeping her eyes on his motionless form lest he wake up and see her making her escape.

She wasn't safe yet….

Kagome slid the shrine door open and slipped inside.

**_Now_**_ I'm safe…_

Geez was it dark in there. She stood still waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, the walls and well slowly taking form around her. Kagome sat the bucket down lightly, still trying to be quiet as possible. It wasn't worth taking a risk and having her Grandpa wake up.

"Buyo….are you in here?" Kagome whispered into the darkness.

But there was no response from the chunky cat. Usually he was outside taking naps in the sunlight or pawing half-heartedly at some poor insect. Kagome didn't know why her Grandpa thought he would be in this small, dark place, but she continued to look for him anyways.

_It's so quiet in here…_

Kagome made her way around the small building, dusting and scrubbing, humming occasionally so it wasn't _too _quiet. Her back was starting to kill her by the time she made it all the way around the walls.

_Now I just have to scrub that dang well and I'm finished…_

This part was always a little scary because in order for Grandpa to be satisfied she had to practically climb into the well to clean it. Speaking of Grandpa, was he still asleep outside? The old man would probably catch a cold from being exposed to the cool twilight air for too long, and somehow manage to blame it on her. Kagome quickened her pace so she could check on her grandfather before the air temperature dropped even lower.

She hastily scrubbed around the base and outside of the well, soap suds dripping down her hands, before attempting to clean the inside. Kagome leaned in as far as she felt safe, straining her arm down to clean as much as she could.

_Almost…_ she reached further down for one last swipe at a particularly nasty smudge …_done._

"_Mur-owww_"

Kagome let out a gasp and flinched at the sudden sound of the meow; it seemed so loud after an hour of silence. She teetered on the lip of the well for half a second, and then…

…she fell.

* * *

Dun Dun Dun….

I'll have the next Chapter up tomorrow…..stay tuned!

-_RedThread_


	2. The Boy

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters…….I only own the plot of my story.

Hi! Here's Chapter 2.

Read -N- Review please!

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Chapter Two

Kagome opened her mouth and screamed, finally finding her voice. She squished her eyes closed and braced herself, waiting for the icy fingers of water to grab her.

_Wait…where's the water?…I'm falling in a well right…_

She opened her eyes…only to see nothing.

She squinted as hard as she could, trying to see something… anything. And then slowly, little lights began to appear all around her. A feeling of weightlessness took over, and an intense pleasure swept through the length of her body.

There was only one logical solution.

_I must be dead…_

She had to be. There was no way she could still be alive and feel this kind of pleasure. She had fallen into a well after all, which means she'd probably ended up drowning.

Kagome's thoughts scattered as another pleasurable thrill went through her. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back to enjoy the feeling.

_What's happening to me? It feels like…like my whole body is changing…_

She felt herself being lulled to sleep by the soothing waves of pleasure passing through her.

_Hmm…I thought when you died you didn't need to sleep…_

Yawn.

_Might as…well catch…some…Z's…_

And with that, Kagome went to sleep, not having even the _slightest_ idea that her world was about to be thrown upside down.

--~~--

She was cold.

And hungry.

And she needed food _now._

Kagome opened her eyes.

_Wha- What happened?_

And then, as if a dam somewhere inside her head had broken, the memories flooded back to her.

She was dead…Or at least she thought she was…

But right now that didn't matter. All she knew was that she needed food, and she needed it _soon._

Kagome looked around. Even though it was dark she was somehow able to see perfectly fine, in fact so fine that she could tell she was still in the well.

_But if I'm in the well…then where's the roof?_

She stared up at the little square of unfamiliar stars that floated above her.

Another wave of hunger washed through her body, causing her to double over in pain.

_Ugh…I've gotta get out of here and find some food._

Studying the wall with her new night vision, Kagome decided that it wouldn't be that hard to get out. The wall was cracked and speckled with fissures, providing plenty of foothold options.

And then the scent hit her…the scent of prey.

She felt her adrenaline level shoot up, causing her body to tremble with suppressed energy. She narrowed her eyes and shot up the wall of the well, determined to get to her food.

Barely pausing to take in her surroundings, Kagome leapt nimbly to the ground and slinked into the thick forest surrounding the well; whatever that good smell was, it was right inside the woods, practically calling her.

As the scent grew stronger instinct took over and she found herself crouched low to the ground in a predatory stance. Her natural impulse was to move quietly, staying wary of the sounds around her. She raised her nose and sniffed the air, freezing so she could hear better.

But the night was quiet… it was just her and her prey.

She moved through the forest like a dark shadow, careful of where she placed her feet lest she make an unbidden noise and startle her prey.

The lone deer was standing in a small clearing, nibbling on a small sprout that was shooting up from the ground, completely unaware that it was being stalked.

She peered at it from behind a large tree, her mouth salivating just from the sight of it. Her muscles tensed up in preparation to spring on the oblivious deer.

_You're mine…_

At that moment everything froze…even time itself seemed to stand still…

The deer lifted its head, finally sensing danger, but its realization was an instant to late…

…the deer was down in seconds, Kagome ripping through its neck with sharp claws, watching eagerly as the light died out of the its eyes. Blood dripped from the gaping wound caused by her vicious claws.

Wait.

_Claws?_

That was weird.

_I don't remember having claws before… must be part of being dead._

Kagome knelt to the ground in pain, her hunger refusing to be forgotten even in the thrill of the kill.

She glanced over at the deer, and the delicious red blood dripping from its neck.

Any rational train of thought that still remained was thrown off track as she leaned over the deer and began to feed.

--~~--

Kagome awoke the next morning to the wonderful sight of a large deer carcass.

She stifled a scream and scooted back, trying to distance herself from the grotesque figure as much as she could.

_Disgusting…whatever got a hold of…of …of whatever that **thing** used to be, is an utter monster._

The carcass was stripped of all its flesh, except for in the small, hard to reach crevices; blood and fur surrounded the meatless pile of bones, and a few flies were buzzing around it.

Kagome diverted her eyes, catching a whiff of the **thing** when she turned her head.

To say it stank was an understatement… never in her life had she smelled something so wholly disgusting.

She threw her arm up over her nose in a vain attempt to block the stench radiating off the…the,** thing**, and stood up to create even more distance between her and it.

A branch snapped.

Kagome turned her head with surprising quickness, studying the woods intently. She cupped a hand to her ear…

_…where in the HELL is my ear?_

She raised a hand to the other side of her head, feeling frantically in the spot where her other ear should have been.

_Not good Not good Not good_

Her hands wondered to the top of her head still searching.

_What the…?_

Why did she have two furry objects firmly attached to the top of her head?

She pulled…hard, and grimaced at the pain that shot through her skull. They definitely weren't going anywhere.

She gently rubbed the tender objects on top of her head, and realized that she could move them. She swiveled them experimentally, reminding her of Buyo's ears. He would often lay outside with his eyes closed and swivel his ears to listen to what was happening around him.

_Don't tell me…I couldn't possibly have…_

Well, hell.

She had cat ears.

She looked down.

And cat claws.

Dried blood caked her hands, and she suddenly remembered the night before.

The well…

…the hunger…

…the forest…

…the deer...

…the attack…

_…the feeding._

She needed to find a lake or pond or even a stream. She needed to see herself, and what she had transformed into.

_Err...plus a bath would be nice._

Kagome left the small clearing, and sat off at a jog through the unknown forest, leaping over low logs with a grace that she had never possessed before. In fact now that she thought about it, her whole body moved in a rather feline style.

She smelt the water just before she heard it, and seconds later she found herself next to a small stream.

_Perfect…a deep spot._

The water was still, providing the perfect place for her to see her reflection. Kagome took a deep breath before walking to the edge of the tranquil stream, not sure if she was quite ready for this. She sunk to her knees, and slowly leaned over to peer into the water.

She released a breath in a strangled whoosh…

She looked exactly the same. No cat nose, no whiskers, no _fur_…to tell the truth a part of her had honestly thought that she'd see a reflection of Buyo staring back at her…

But that wasn't the case.

She studied her half- human reflection and realized that her ears were as black as her hair, nearly blending in; they were midnight black with little dark hairs blocking the pink on the inside.

_True cat ears..._

She leaned over further, her eyes striking her as odd. The pupil's were slit, and her original dark brown eye color had lightened into a more golden shade.

_Eh…and what's this?_

She noticed a gleam of light coming from her lip, and gasped at the sharp fangs that were revealed when she pulled her lips back.

_Oh please tell me that's not a piece of deer stuck in my teeth…_

She reached a hand up, frantic to rid her mouth of the little brown chunk that clung stubbornly to her bottom teeth. A claw placed in the right spot did the trick, and Kagome flicked the little piece of _whatever_ away from her.

_Wonderful… do I have a freakin' tail too?_

She slowly turned around, almost scared to look…

_But of course…what kind of cat would I be without a tail?_

It was midnight black like the rest of her hair, and probably a little bit longer than her arm.

_Wonder how I missed the fact that I had a tail attached to me?_

She moved it, wondering how it had gotten through the shorts she had on. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it had torn a little hole through her pants so it could protrude proudly behind her.

_So is this heaven or what?_ Kagome wondered. _Or am I dreaming…_

She needed answers… before she went completely insane.

_But I think I'll manage to hold onto my sanity until I have a bath…then I'll look for some answers…_

Kagome looked at the deep pool, and quickly slid her clothes off, shivering as the cool water touched her skin. With her new cat instincts she realized she would really rather not have been in the water, but her human side demanded her hygiene needs be met.

She began scrubbing at the blood that caked her claws and fingers, watching as the water around her slowly bled red and then became clear again as the blood drifted away. When her hands were cleaned to her satisfaction she started on the rest of her body, careful not to get her ears wet…a wet tail was already uncomfortable enough.

When she was clean she climbed out and put on her clothes. She was still wet, but her options were either to dry in her clothes or in the nude…

Looking at the water, Kagome realized that she was parched. On instinct, she bent down and put her face to the water, lapping at it in a very cat- like manner.

_Geez…can't believe I'm doing this…_

She stood up a few minutes later, thirst quenched, and started towards the woods, looking for some kind of human made trail…

_That is, if humans even exist here…_

It wasn't long before she spotted one further downstream, and she started up the path at a lazy pace. After the meal from last night, she was stuffed. All she really wanted was to be true to her nature and lay down in a patch of sunlight to take a long cat nap.

_Focus Kagome… the last thing you need right now is a nap…_

But wait…What would people say if they saw a cat- human? Would they be totally revolted and try to capture her? Or would they take her to some kind of freaky lab and run freaky tests on her?

She paused her internal monologue, and looked around.

_What the heck? This is the same clearing I was in earlier._

There was the deer carcass (or at least half of it, something else must have found it) lying in the middle of the clearing right in front of the huge tree which had a dead boy pinned to it with an arrow.

_Wait…._

_..a dead boy..._

_…pinned to it..._

_…with an arrow?_

_How in the heck do I miss these things!?_

First her tail and now this incredibly preserved guy that was pinned to a tree with an arrow, which she ,by the way, had probably slept under last night.

Surprisingly, she wasn't revolted by the sight. From what she could see he was actually a very handsome boy and probably around her age. In fact she was rather…curious.

She took a step towards him, a saying whispering through her mind: "Curiosity killed the cat."

She ignored the wise saying and took a step closer.

_Well then…guess I'm not the only freak running around here…_

He had ears like hers, except they seemed more canine. They were larger and not as pointed. She sniffed the air around him…she was rather close to him now.

Her sensitive cat nose wrinkled at the overpowering stench of dog that covered him. She instinctively backed away, and held down a hiss that formed in her throat…she may have some qualities and instincts of a cat now, but she refused to _hiss_ like one.

Even though she backed away from him she was immediately drawn back to him by the arrow that seemed to be holding him prisoner against the tree. It looked strangely familiar to her. Like she had used it once.

_Ha listen to yourself. You're acting like you've been reincarnated or something..._

_...but then again, that's probably completely rational in this world…_

She reached tentatively towards the arrow, drawing a clawed finger along the side of it. It felt good; it obviously had to be a miko's arrow. And a powerful one at that. She guessed that the guy had to have been trapped there for at least 50 years.

_Geez…that would suck…I kind of feel sorry for him…_

Suddenly she was possessed with the overwhelming urge to pull the arrow out. She would not be satisfied until she had done something about this.

And she wanted to pull it out _so_ badly……but then, maybe she shouldn't. What if he magically came alive or something?

_Yeah right… the worst thing that could happen is that the dead guy topples over on me…_

Kagome studied him, looking for any sort of weapon that he might possess…ya know, just in case her first theory happened to be right. But all she could see were his claws, which were long and sharp like hers. They could definitely cause some damage.

She stood there thinking.

_Can't resist…urge…much…longer!_

Well, hell.

If he attacked her with his claws, she would attack him right back. She was going to pull that damn arrow out if it was the last thing she did.

She slid next to him, positioning herself to pull the arrow out. She grasped it with both of her hands, and braced her feet against the tree on either side of him, then took a deep breath and silently prepared herself for the worse.

She pulled.

The arrow slid out of his chest easily, causing Kagome to fall backwards...she'd been expecting a little more resistance than that.

Kagome glanced at the slumped form of the boy, waiting for some kind of reaction from him.

Nothing.

He didn't move or breathe. She scooted over to his body and positioned him so that he was lying flat on his back.

_Guess he's just a dead guy after all…_

Before the realization that she was touching a _dead _guy could hit her, she saw him move.

She watched as the boy's eyes pulled open, like he'd just been awakened from a long nap and his eyelids were still heavy with sleep.

Her eyes widened as she took in the peculiar color of gold that shaded his. They were gorgeous.

"Get your hand off of me, ya damn cat."

Kagome jumped at the sound of his voice, removing the hand that she had unconsciously placed on his chest.

The dog- boy leapt off of the ground (like he hadn't just had an arrow ripped out of his chest) and bounded into the limbs of the tree he had been imprisoned to.

"Well Kikyo, your fashion sense has changed since we last met, but you still look exactly the same," the dog- boy growled down at her.

_Kikyo? Who the heck is that?_

"What? Cat got your tongue Kik—"

"I'm not Kikyo, you idiot," Kagome interrupted. If he was going to be rude, well then so was she. She watched as his eyes narrowed at the word 'idiot'.

_But just to be on the safe side, maybe I should try to be friendly first._

She sighed.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi, and I'm lost. I was wondering if you could help me..."

He peered down at her suspiciously. "You're trying to trick me aren't you Kikyo? Ha, 'my name is Kagome and I'm lost', very clever Kikyo. But you can't trick me; not again. You see, unfortunately to get what I want I'm going to have to kill you." His eyes gleamed in the shadows of the tree, and his claws flashed as he held them out in front of him.

Well she tried to be nice. But she was lost, confused, and her name was _Kagome_, dammit.

She looked at his claws warily. He probably knew what he was doing with those things, unlike her. Kagome considered her options.

_A) Try to talk reasonably with him B) Fight him C) Run like hell OR D) Throw nasty comment over shoulder and then run like hell. Hmm…decisions, decisions…_

_I'll take choice D…_

"Look you stupid _mongrel_," she studied her claws nonchalantly, "my name is _Ka-go-me_, and I don't know who in the hell this _Kikyo_ girl is, but she's _not _me."

When Kagome heard him snarl, she flicked her tail and made her escape.

"I swear I'm going to kill you, ya damn cat!"

_Terrific…I'm lost **and **being chased by an angry Dog-Boy…how could my life possibly get any better? _

* * *

I'm working on Chapter 3.

I'll try to have it up by tomorrow.

:D

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	3. The Old Woman

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters…….I only own the plot of my story.

Hello! Here's Chapter 3.

Read -N- Review please!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3

Kagome sped through the woods blindly; she had absolutely no idea where she was going, but instinct was telling her to get away from Dog- Boy as fast and far as she could.

She was excited to find that she was able to run extremely fast. Trees and bushes flew past so fast that they created green, blurry walls on either side of her. There was no way he would catch her at this rate.

How wrong she was.

Kagome had been expecting him to chase her from behind, but apparently he had other ideas. She saw a shadow jump into a tree next to her and then continue to follow her as she ran.

How in the heck could he keep up with her by jumping through _trees?_ Didn't he realize that was dangerous?

The shadow disappeared.

Crap.

She had no idea where he was or what he was planning to do.

Maybe he ran into a tree….

The comical scene ran through Kagome's head and caused her to grin. She was caught completely unawares when he landed right in front of her, causing her to run smack into his chest.

They crashed to the ground and rolled.

Of course, with her luck, he landed on top, effectively trapping her between him and the ground.

She moaned, as much from pain as annoyance.

His chest was really hard...and the ground wasn't exactly a pile of pillows. She knew her body would be aching tomorrow, and her poor tail was crushed uncomfortably beneath her. She ground her teeth, and opened her eyes, which had been tightly closed when they fell.

"Stupid cat….you need to watch where you're going," Dog-Boy said as he raised his head to look at her.

Kagome felt his voice rumble through her. For the first time she realized just how completely on top of her he was. She could feel her face turning hot.

"Well you're the idiot who jumped in front of me!"

Kagome turned her head from his golden gaze that was just a few scant inches from her own, and tried wiggling out from underneath him, which caused him to sit up so he was straddling her waist. He leaned over and grabbed her wrists so he could pin them above her head, thus making her struggles futile.

"Feh", he said looking down at her," it doesn't matter now 'cause I've got you right were I want you." Kagome couldn't help but growl at the cocky tone of voice he had. Who did he think he was anyways?

"What exactly do want from me? I haven't done anything to you, you stupid dog!" Kagome continued to squirm under him, but immediately stopped when she realized what part of him she was rubbing. Her blush intensified. She looked up at him, and met his eyes for the first time, waiting for an answer, and trying not to think about all the places their bodies were touching.

If Dog- Boy was feeling anything uuhh, sexual, he wasn't showing it. He continued to fix her with his golden gaze which, at the moment, held distrust and confusion. His eyes narrowed.

"Don't act like you don't know who I am or what I'm after", he growled.

Kagome mentally banged her head against the ground. "But that's exactly what I don't know! Who in the heck are you?"

He shook his head, ignoring her question,"Your scent smells different, something about you has changed Kikyo."

"For the last time, my name is Kagome, dammit! And I have no freakin' idea who this Kikyo is that you're talking about. You have the wrong girl. Heck, I don't even belong to this world!"

Dog- Boy studied her from above.

"You've finally gone off you're rocker haven't ya Kikyo?"

Kagome yelled in frustration. "Look I don't even know your name! And get off of me!" Kagome glared up at her captor. Her nose was being overrun by his dog scent, and his claws were starting to dig into the tender flesh of her wrists.

"Not until I get the jewel", he snarled at her.

Kagome was just about to snap a reply back when something strange happened.

Somebody stumbled out of the woods into the little clearing they were in, Dog-Boy lifted his head. Suddenly a string of beads was thrown around his neck, and this caused enough of a distraction for Kagome to break through his grip and scramble away.

"Quick!" a voice commanded. "Order him to do something!"

She glanced at the confused Dog- Boy and said the first thing that came to mind...

"Sit!"

He slammed to the ground, face first, with a startled yelp.

Kagome turned to look for the owner of the strange voice, and found her already bending on the ground close to Dog- Boy. She was an old woman dressed in the clothes of a miko with a small eye-patch over one eye. She carried a bow on her back, and had a quiver of arrows on the ground next to her.

"Th-thank you, for uhh, saving me," Kagome stuttered, still not quite sure of what exactly happened. But the old woman was not listening, she was studying the boy that was at the moment lying on the ground unconscious.

Kagome bent down next to her, causing the woman to look up. She let out an annoyed sigh,"Ye better come with me, young lady. I have a feeling this is going to take a lot of explaining."

Kagome glanced at Dog-Boy. "Um, what about him?"

"Ye will have to carry him"

"What! He's like two times bigger than me!"

The old lady fixed her with a stern glare. "That doesn't matter; ye should be able to carry the lad. We will not be going far."

Kagome sighed and walked over to the unconscious boy. She'd just have to show the old lady she couldn't do it. She flipped him over so he was lying on his back, and scooped her hands under his knees and head. She was expecting to have to strain to get up with him, but to her surprise he was lighter than he looked...

...or either she had gotten stronger...

She turned with Dog-Boy in her arms to face the old woman, but she was already disappearing into the bushes in the direction she'd come from...

"Hurry it up, I haven't got all day.... I left the porridge over the fire....

* * *

Kagome was relieved when she saw a little village up ahead. She would have stopped to admire the view……except for the fact that she could barely see to step one foot in front of the other. Somewhere along the way to the village her bangs had slid in front of her eyes...

...but it wasn't like she could do anything about it, thanks to Mr. Out Cold.

She shook her head in a vain attempt to move the stubborn hairs, and finally gave up when they stuck to the sweat that had formed on her forehead. Now they were worse than before...

She stumbled after the old miko to a small house located on the outskirts of the little town, throwing Dog-Boy down none to gently just inside the doorway. She reached up and finally moved her sticky bangs from in front of her eyes.

That was better.

She looked around the inside of the little house… if you could call it that. It was really more of a hut. The small one-roomed building had a place for a fire in the middle, a few sleeping mats on the ground, and a row of home-made cabinets in the corner.

Kagome sniffed at the food that was cooking over the small fire and reallized that she was _starving...._again.

She had burned quite a lot of energy running from, yelling at, and carrying that stupid Dog-Boy.

"Would ye like some porridge? It's only burned a little..."

Kagome started at the sound of the old woman's voice, "Sure, I'd love some. Thanks."

"Come sit child, make yourself comfortable...I'll get some cold water to go with that porridge..."

Kagome felt uncomfortable coming into this strange woman's hut. She didn't know what was happening, or who she could trust. She'd already been tackled to the ground by a strange boy, and the last thing she needed was an old woman poisoning her with some burnt porridge.

She watched carefully as the old woman scooped out a bowlful and handed it to her.

"I'll be back in a moment," she said gruffly as she hobbled out of the door.

Kagome sniffed at the bowl as soon as the old woman was out of sight....it didn't smell poisonous...and she was _sooo_ hungry.

Oh what the heck...if all of that raw deer hadn't even given her a stomach ache, then she should be able to handle some porridge.

Kagome turned the bowl up and slurped down a mouthful of steaming porridge, instantly wishing she had waited for the old woman to return with the water.

"I _do _havesome spoons if ye would like to eat like a normal person...."

Kagome jumped at the sound of the old woman's voice, surprised she hadn't heard her enter. She took the cup of water that was being held out to her and gulped it down, washing away the last bits of porridge. "A spoon would be nice...," she croaked, her voice raw from the burning trail the porridge had burned down her throat.

The old woman opened one of the cabinets and pulled out two wooden spoons and an extra bowl, before sitting down next to the fire.

Kagome gratefully took the spoon and ate the hot food at a slower pace, taking slow gulps of water occasionally.

"So what is your name child...."

"Kagome Higurashi"

"And where do ye come from?"

Kagome shifted self- consciously and cleared her throat. She knew that question would come up eventually, but before she answered it she needed to know a few things. "What is _your_ name?"

The old woman said nothing at the subject change, and simply continued to stare at Kagome with her one good eye. "I am known as Kaede, miko and healer of this village."

"And where exactly is this village?"

"Western Japan...."

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"I might if ye tell me where ye are from...."

"I'm from Tokyo"

"Hmm, never heard of it..."

Kagome felt her mouth open slightly in suprise. "What do you mean you've never heard of it? It's the biggest city in Japan!"

"Nope...I'm pretty sure there is no Tokyo anywhere in this land..."

"What? Are you trying to tell me that a whole city just... just disappeared?!" Kagome gestured wildly in frustration. How could this be possible?

Kaede shifted forward and stared at Kagome intently, causing her to squirm uncomfortably. "I need you to tell me _exactly_ how you got here...and don't leave out anything..."

Kagome sighed and took a swig of water. There was no way this old woman was going to believe a word she said....but she was starting to think anything was possible....

"Well....it all started when I was scrubbing the inside of the well...."

Throughout Kagome's story, Kaede nodded her head and made an occasional comment about something or the other, but otherwise sat still and said nothing.

When her story was finished Kagome stared at the old woman, waiting for her to call her a raving, crazy lunatic...

But instead a look of annoyance crossed her face.

"Took ye long enough....I've been waiting for ye for 50 years now...."

* * *

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:)

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	4. The Explanation

I've rewritten this chapter because I wasn't too happy with the way it flowed originally. Don't worry, I haven't change any of the actual story…just the way Kaede tells it…

I also plan on editing the other chapters so they match up with this one better… :)

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha…

--~~--

* * *

Chapter 4

"Uhhh, what?" Kagome said intelligently.

"That's right, 50 years!" Kaede exclaimed. "Or maybe 49…" she considered as she tapped her chin. "Oh well, either way I've been waiting for ye to come for a very long time now…"

Kagome studied the old woman, not sure if she was hearing correctly or not…. "How could you have possibly been waiting for me? You didn't even know my name…"

"Well my dear sister didn't exactly leave me much to work with when she made the prophecy."

Kagome felt her face screw up in an effort to make sense of what Kaede was saying. "I'm confused…you have a sister?"

"Aye that I do…or did; she's dead now. In fact she died on this very day, fifty years ago….or was it 49 years ago?"

Kagome gave her a weird look before cautiously asking her a question. "If you don't mind me asking…how did she die?"

The older woman let out a long sigh and settled herself into a comfortable position, as though getting ready to tell a long story. Kagome quickly followed suit, wrapping her tail around her crossed legs and placing her hands in her lap.

"I don't mind telling you since you need to hear this anyway…"

The old miko closed her good eye and took a deep breath before beginning... "You see, her death doesn't bother me too much because Kikyo and I never were too close. She was tall and beautiful, powerful and smart, fast and strong…she was amazing, and I hated her for it. In fact the whole village hated her…"

-

_Kikyo leapt through the trees_, going as fast as her hanyou speed would allow. She clutched the small jewel that was attached to the shell necklace around her neck, feeling comfort in the form of its weight in her hand.

Today was the day.

The day that she would become human and begin to live a normal life.

Never again would she have to hear the scathing remarks about her mixed heritage or turn away from the distasteful stares of the villagers. Never again would she have to battle another hanyou to protect the sacred Hanyou Jewel. Never again would she have to be lonely…

_Never again._

She dropped out of a tree and landed in a small meadow….she must have gotten there before Inuyasha. A glance at the sun told her that it was just around noon, so the inu-hanyou would probably show up shortly…

As she waited, Kikyo closed her eyes and focused on looking within herself, noticing that her hanyou half was glowing just as brightly as her miko half. Good. As long as they were balanced she was safe.

Kikyo let out a heavy sigh and felt her hand stray to her thigh where she usually carried her weapon. She had taken it off for the first time in 4 years for this momentous day, and she realized with a pang that she was going to miss using it…

She looked down at her claw-tipped hands and imagined what they were going to look like with short human nails…maybe she would finally be able to pick up small objects…

Kikyo slowly drew out the bright pink jewel that was nestled in her chest and stared into it, wondering who in the world was stupid enough to make the thing…

Yet she would probably find herself thanking them because once the Hanyou Jewel was used to turn Inuyasha into a human it would be half-way purified, and then she, the Guardian of the Jewel, would be able to use it on herself and fully purify it forever.

Like every Guardian before her, she had sworn to protect the Jewel from any hanyou who tried to use it for impure reasons, such as becoming a full-fledged youkai.

Already the Jewel had been used many to times to turn revenge seeking hanyou into powerful demons. So many, in fact, that now to be able to completely purify the Jewel at least two hanyou had to be willing to use it to turn human.

Kikyo had accepted the fact that she would never find a hanyou willing to change into a human, and had pretty much given up hope… until she met Inuyasha.

Speaking of the hot tempered hanyou….where was he? She'd been here for nearly 30 minutes now…

Oh well, he'd show up sooner or later just like always.

But Kikyo couldn't help the small frown that was forming on her face as she thought about his lateness. He knew how much this meant to her, and he'd sworn just yesterday that he'd be here right at noon…

"Stupid dog… he's the one that set up the time and place…"

Kikyo's ears flicked at the sound of somebody's approach, and she immediately became on guard when she realized that they were trying to be sneaky. She sniffed the air and was careful to hold still so she could hear better.

She slowly tucked the Jewel back into her clothing, not sure if she could trust this person or not. Without her weapon she wasn't willing to take any chances…

Kikyo gasped as a searing pain shot through her back. She felt her body start a slow descent to the ground.

_How…how did they get ..behind. ..me?_

Kikyo could see her vision becoming fuzzy and the world start to spin. The coppery smell of her blood was sharp in the air, and she winced as the hot liquid seeped down her back and through her clothes.

"Kikyo…thank you for waiting…"

At the sound of his voice, her vision sharpened and she was brought back from the edge of unconsciousness. "Inu...yasha?"

She watched as a pair of clawed feet slowly walked into her line of vision. Then his face was next to hers and she saw the familiar glint of teeth as he sneered.

"I thought it would take more than that to take down the Guardian of the Jewel… Why aren't you fighting back Kikyo?"

Kikyo's eyes widened at his tone of voice, and she groaned as he straightened up and stomped a foot on her back, pinning her to the ground. "Why?" she choked. "What is wrong with you Inuyasha!"

The pressure on her back increased and she felt his claws dig into the wound that was still bleeding excessively through her clothes. She'd dressed so nice today too…

"You're a stupid woman, ya know that Kikyo? Who in their right mind would use the Jewel to become a human?"

Kikyo could feel the Jewel pressing into her chest uncomfortably as he leaned even more of his weight onto the leg that was holding her down. "But…I thought..we agreed…Inuyasha.. Why? Why Inuyasha!"

She could feel herself becoming angry and upset as the full danger of the situation hit her. She was being betrayed…and by the one person she'd trusted…

If he took the Jewel and used it to become a demon then it would be fully corrupted, and all hope of her 'normal life' would be gone with it….

"Kikyo," he scoffed, "you're way to trusting and naïve. I've been pretending to agree with you this whole time, hoping to find your weakness so I could get rid of you and take the Jewel for myself…and you've believed every word of it…."

"You _bastard_," she spat.

"Now," he continued, clearly unaffected by her comment, "I know you have the Jewel with you, so you can either give it to me and be killed quickly or refuse and die a slow, lonely, painful death…"

"Go to hell!" she ground out, her words followed by a strained growl.

Despite her disbelieve of the situation, she could hear her mind telling her to fight. _Protect the Jewel_. It was like those words caused her brain to retire and her body to take over; she could feel her muscles tightening and adrenaline flowing through her veins. He wanted a fight, then he was going to get one…

"I see you want to do this the hard way eh? I'll just force it out of ya then."

Inuyasha bent down and roughly grabbed the back of her shirt, yanking her to her feet. He smirked at her before thrusting his claws into her stomach, causing Kikyo's mouth to open in a silent scream.

"Wanna tell me now?"

Kikyo could hear her pulse pounding in her head, and she gritted her teeth together in defiance. This was not over yet….

She felt her claws extend as she drew her hand back to strike Inuyasha, and she didn't hesitate as she swiped them down across his shoulder. He let out a startled yell and slid his claws out of her belly, stumbling backwards.

Kikyo held a hand to her injured stomach in an attempt to staunch the blood that was dripping to the ground.

"Bitch…you've still got some fight in ya, huh? Let's see how long you last…"

He settled into an offensive crouch and began to stalk around the injured cat hanyou, his own injury forgotten. Kikyo made sure to keep her distance, but her breathing was ragged and her adrenaline rush was the only thing keeping her on her feet.

She leapt away as Inuyasha sprung at her and she landed in an awkward half stooping position, causing a hiss of pain to rip out of her throat.

Inuyasha was there before she could even stand up fully, and he struck out, claws barely missing her as she leaned back just in time. When his hand came down the next time, the tip of a claw caught her neckline and her shirt was ripped so that the Hanyou Jewel was exposed.

"Found it…"

Kikyo ducked away from Inuyasha and sprinted as fast as she could to the edge of the clearing…but Inuyasha was faster…. he jumped in front of her, blocking her escape. She watched in horror as his hand reached out and snatched the Hanyou Jewel from around her neck, breaking the shell chain it had been hanging from.

With his other hand he sliced at her shoulder and cut all the way to the bone, causing her to keel over in agony.

"Too easy…," he boasted as he watched her sink to the ground. "I expected more out of you…"

He tossed the Jewel in the air and caught it in his other hand, which was stained with her blood.

"See you around Kikyo…"

She watched as he slipped into the woods, leaving her behind, broken and bleeding…and mad as hell.

Kikyo slowly pushed herself of the ground, a mix of tears and blood running down her face. Her vision now had a strange red tint, and her body was shaking furiously.

"I'll _kill_ you Inuyasha! I swear it!"….

…_and then she knew no more…._

_-_

"Wait…"

"Yes, child…what is it?"

Kagome stared at the old woman critically. "How is it that you know all of this happened? I mean…you're telling this story as if you were actually inside Kikyo's head."

"What? Am I not allowed to have a little fun? Telling it from my point of view is rather boring…"

"How much of this is true?"

"Why all of it! Do ye not believe me?"

"Well how can Kikyo still be able to move and whatnot if Inuyasha stuck his hand_ through _her stomach?"

"She's a hanyou, you silly girl! A hand through the stomach isn't enough to stop one of them!"

"Then why did she faint?"

"Oh…she didn't…she just ran out of my sight. I'm not really sure what happened between then and a few hours later when I finally found her…"

Kaede turned to pick up a sturdy stick that was lying just behind her, and commenced poking the fire; it had diminished considerably since her story had started. "Now then, shall I continue?"

Kagome snorted. "Sure, why not? It's a great story."

Kaede crossed her arms and leaned back a little ways, deep in thought. "Where was I…Ah yes! I was following Kikyo's aura, but she and Inuyasha had traveled quite a ways into the forest. It took me hours to finally catch up…"

-

_Kikyo was lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood._ It looked like every inch of her had been hit; one ear was slit, her tail was obviously broken, and her claws were cracked and bleeding.

Inuyasha didn't look much better…

The inu-hanyou was blissfully unaware of his injuries though…or at least that's what she thought. She wasn't sure what one felt when they were sealed to a tree with a sacred arrow…

Kikyo stiffened when she heard a rustle from the bushes nearby…the last thing she needed was a vengeful hanyou attacking at a time like this.

Her body relaxed when her younger sister cautiously crawled out of the foliage, eyes wide and unbelieving.

"Ki-Kikyo? What happened? Are you okay!"

The little girl rushed over and knelt beside Kikyo's dying body. Yes…she was dying.

The injured cat hanyou struggled to speak. "Kaede…listen…to me." Kikyo lifted her hand and held it open so her sister could see what she held. "When I…die…burn this…with my…body. Unhh…do you…understand?"

The little girl nodded her head, completely serious, for it was obvious her older sibling wasn't going to make it out of this one. Tears gathered in her eyes as she watched her sister reach for her precious bow.

"Kaede…I want you…to..have this. Use it well." Kikyo smiled gently as Kaede took the bow from her hands. "You know..I.. wish we could…have known each other better…"

The younger girl shook her head in silent agreement, her tears flowing unchecked down her face.

"Farewell, Kaede…."

_Kikyo shut her eyes and let her body rest in ease as she took her last few straggling breaths. _

-

"Wait!..."

"What is it _now_ child?"

Kagome leaned forward, eyes wide. "She can't die yet! You said she made a prophecy!"

"And I was getting to that…," Kaede snapped, annoyed that she had been interrupted yet again. "Just let me finish!"

Kagome sat back and signaled for her to carry on, her gesture impatient.

"As I was saying," the old woman continued, "she was taking her last few breaths when it happened…"

-

_Kikyo's eyes shot open and her body stiffened unnaturally_. Kaede stared in shock, and scooted away from the possessed body of her sister. She nearly screamed when Kikyo started speaking…her voice monotone.

"_In fifty years she will come, her soul a piece of another's. She will be Guardian of the Jewel, and face many trials of life and death. Only she is capable of purifying the Jewel, but first, in order to find the Jewel, she must search where the East and West meet, and where darkness lay. She must learn to control both halves of herself or risk being destroyed. Watch the Well of Ages, it is her portal."_

Kikyo's body slackened and her eyes rolled back; she was silent yet again.

After a few minutes of frozen horror, Kaede moved again, the words from her dead sister playing over and over in her head. What did it mean? Who was she talking about?

She would never know…her sister was gone forever, leaving nothing behind but a body and a riddle.

…_.and a certain inu-hanyou._

-

"Of course it wasn't until I was older that I realized I had just witnessed a prophecy…" Kaede stirred the fire once more. "And, now, here you are, 50 years later…"

"Are you sure it's not 49 years later?" Kagome kidded, feeling a need to lighten the atmosphere a little.

"Aye….," the old woman replied distractedly.

They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. The fire crackled and popped loudly in the silence.

Both females started when a bleary eyed Inuyasha sat up suddenly, looking around the small hut in confusion.

"Damn you, ya old hag! What the hell did you put around my neck?"

* * *

I hope everyone caught that where the _italicize_ started a flashback started....just thought I'd let you know in case anyone was confused... 

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Thanx

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	5. The Waking of Inuyasha

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters…….I only own the plot of my story.

This is a re-edited version of Chapter 5 _The Chance_...I've also decided to make it into two chapters, so now Chapter 5 is actually Chapter 5 and 6...

Read -N- Review please!

And 'Thank You!' to those who have.

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Chapter 5

Kagome stared at Inuyasha as he tugged on the necklace of beads around his neck, eventually getting his feet caught up in it so he looked much like a circus bear playing with a ball.

"Inuyasha! Quit that! It's not going to come off no matter how hard you tug!"

Inuyasha immediately disentangled himself and backed into a corner. "How do you know my name old woman? I don't know you…."

Kaede resumed scooping porridge into the extra bowl. "Don't be silly….of course you know me…"

He peered over at her. "Nope…pretty sure I don't know any old hags…"

Kagome watched a vein pop out on Kaede's head.

"My name is _not_ old hag, you stupid boy…"

Inuyasha raised his nose to sniff at her. "Then who are you?" His nose caught Kagome's scent. "And who the _hell_ are you…"

She flicked her tail in annoyance as Inuyasha made a rude face at her. His sensitive nose twitched and his ears were plastered to his head.

"You're that Kanami girl from earlier…."

"_Kanami?_ It's **Ka-go-me** you dumbass…what does it take to get that through your thick skull?"

"Wanna fight wench!?"

"Bring it on, you backstabbing _asshole_!"

Kagome and Inuyasha were both standing up now, their postures stiff and threatening.

"Kagome! Inuyasha! Stop this right now, or so help me I'll make you _both_ wish you'd never opened your mouth!" Kaede raised her ladle above her head in a menacing way that made both hanyou back away from each other and drop their argument….but if looks could kill…..

"Now then," Kaede continued, pretending to be oblivious to the silent death match that was going on between the dog and cat hanyou, "Inuyasha, I'm Kaede, Kikyo's younger sister….and this is Kagome, the new Guardian of the Jewel."

Both teenagers snapped their head towards Kaede and started speaking at once. "What?! How can she be the Guardian if Kikyo already is? And how could you possibly be Kikyo's _younger_ sister?" "Since when did I become Guardian of the Jewel! I don't want anything to do with it!"

Kaede held the ladle up again and they fell silent.

"First of all," she started, "Kagome, you are now the Guardian because that's what the prophecy said you would be. And second of all, Kikyo is no longer with us, Inuyasha, so the responsibility has to be passed on."

"But of course Inuyasha already _knows_ Kikyo's not around doesn't he?" Kagome murmured darkly.

"How would I know if Kikyo wasn't around…I could care less what happens to that stupid cat after she _betrayed_ me…," Inuyasha growled bitterly.

"What are you talking about!? You're the one who betrayed her! She _died_ from the wounds _you_ gave her!"

"What! She's the one who attacked me! Nearly snapped me in half with that damn whip of hers too!… I've probably still got scars to prove it!"

Kaede intervened again before the argument could escalate into an actual fight, much to Kagome's disappointment. She really wanted to get her claws into that two- faced, lying jerk.

"Inuyasha….what do you mean _she _betrayed _you_. I saw you cut her down with my own eyes…," Kaede reasoned.

"You only have one eye, how well could you possibly see?" he snapped. The inu-hanyou had gone unusually pale after Kagome's earlier statement, declaring Kikyo dead.

Kaede glared at him with her remaining eye. "I had two eyes back then that worked perfectly fine, thank you…and I _know_ what I saw."

"Well you obviously saw wrong, because I never attacked her! In fact I was on my way to meet her when _she_ attacked _me_."

"But that doesn't make sense…Kikyo was in the meadow for over 30 minutes waiting for you…. And when you finally showed up you didn't act wounded."

"But that's just the thing; I never even went to the meadow!" Inuyasha argued. "After she attacked me I took off to the village so I could take the Jewel and run…"

"The Jewel wasn't in the village though, it was with Kikyo in the meadow—"

"The Jewel was in the village…," he interrupted, "I could sense it there. That's how I knew Kikyo had never meant to use it on me…the stupid bitch didn't have it with her!"

Kagome sat silently through all of this, listening to both sides of the story and trying to make it all fit together.

"When I busted through all of the barriers surrounding it," Inuyasha continued, "the Jewel was sitting below the little stand it usually hung from, because the shell necklace was broken."

"And then what?" Kaede asked skeptically.

"I took the stupid thing and ran of course!" Inuyasha paused for a second, his face thoughtful. "But then I smelled Kikyo's blood and knew she was close behind me, so I tried to pick up the pace, but my body refused to go any faster thanks to the huge gaping wound that she'd left on my side. I was nearly through the forest when she finally caught up to me."

Kagome and Kaede stared at Inuyasha as he related to them the missing part of Kaede's story.

-

_Inuyasha slowed and turned when he heard her call his name._

"Inuyasha!"

He edged away from the injured cat hanyou, feeling his back thunk against a solid tree behind him, and wondered how she had managed to hurt herself so bad in the hour since they'd separated. She stared at him levelly, hatred flashing through her now vibrant golden eyes.

This wasn't good.

Her inner youkai was showing signs of becoming dominant.

Inuyasha clutched his side and put on a façade of strength, acting like he wasn't injured.

"Inuyasha! You traitor!" She spat, followed by a few strangled coughs that splattered the ground with her blood.

_What? What is she talking about? How am I the traitor? Keh, doesn't matter now that I've got the Jewel…_ Inuyasha smirked over at the enraged girl, ignoring the pang of worry that shot through him as she raised her bow.

_She wouldn't…_

"It's over now Inuyasha…so die!"

His eyes widened as she notched an arrow and took aim.

_She is…she's going to do it…_

"Why?" he growled desperately.

Inuyasha watched the arrow whiz toward him, and leaned forward so he could leap out of its path; but his body had reached its limit and refused to move fast enough. He grunted in pain as the impact knocked him back against the tree, pinning him to it.

"Why Kikyo? I…I… thought—," But he couldn't talk, everything was becoming fuzzy and darkness was encroaching on his vision. The last thing he saw was Kikyo's collapsed form on the ground, blood pooling around her.

_The Jewel fell out of his hand as his body relaxed into a deep slumber, and he knew no more…_

-

"Until you pulled that damned arrow out of my chest," he said pointing at Kagome, who was staring at him suspiciously.

"And that only reinforces the fact that your soul is a piece of my sister's," Kaede said, "only the one who uses a sealing arrow possesses the ability to pull it out…"

"That's all well and good," Kagome sniffed, "but I still don't trust him….how do we know he's telling the truth?"

Kaede looked over at Inuyasha, her stare calculating. "Take of your shirt…"

"What? Why! I don't want some old lady ogling me…"

"It's to see if you have a scar, you foolish mongrel," Kaede snapped back at him, insulted by his accusation.

"Why can't you just trust me?" he grumbled.

"Oh stop stalling and just pull it off…" Kaede commanded.

"No way! I don't have to prove myself to you!"

The old miko frowned and then turned around with a secretive smile. "He's just too embarrassed to show his stomach because he's not buff…sorry Kagome, but we're just going to have to—"

"Fine! If you want to see so bad, then look!"

Kagome smiled as she recognized Kaede's hidden motive to attack his male pride…sneaky old woman….

Inuyasha scowled and untied his red robe so it was loose enough to fall down off his shoulders. Kagome stared at the blood stained white shirt that was under it. As he pulled it over his head she let out a gasp at the giant scar that circled all the way around him, just above his hip bones.

"Hmm, you're not a little shrimp after all, huh?" Kaede said, eyeing him appreciatively.

"The scar, old woman, look at the** scar**," he growled.

"Yes, yes, alright I see it. Seems even your hanyou body couldn't heal it all the way…"

"Keh…," He started to put the bloody shirt back on, but Kaede grabbed it away from him.

"I'll wash it for you…you can't go around wearing 50 year old bloodstains…"

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Kagome smiled in delicious pleasure before updating Inuyasha. "It means that you've been sealed to that tree for 50 years…"

She watched his eyes widen and his jaw drop, hands hanging limp by his side in shock. "F- Fifty years!" he sputtered.

Kaede turned back to the bare-chested hanyou, and stared at him in confusion. "Well what did you expect, I didn't just age 50 years over night…"

"Then you mean to say she was born while I was trapped to that damn tree?" He asked as he shrugged back into his red robe, eyeing the 15 year old Kagome curiously. "Is that the fashion now a day?"

Kagome glanced down at her old shorts and messy T- shirt with a grimace…the effects of tromping through the woods for the last day and a half didn't help either… She glared at the dog hanyou, and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

"Actually," Kaede said, as she handed Inuyasha his porridge which had long since cooled, "that's the fashion of the future…"

And thus Kagome began her explanation all over again.

--~~--

Later that night, after a rather scrumptious meal of grilled fish, Kagome decided it was time to hit the sack. Had it really been just this morning that she had discovered Inuyasha?

Kaede provided blankets and pillows, and after making sure Inuyasha wasn't going to try anything funny, Kagome lay down and tried to sleep.

A few minutes later, Inuyasha stood up from his corner and quietly snuck out of the hut.

Kagome sat up at the sound of his faint footsteps and turned to look at Kaede worriedly.

"He'll be back…he's been through a lot today, so let him sort through his emotions…"

Kagome lay back down with a sigh.

_Not like I care where he goes anyways…._

--~~--

Just before dawn, Kagome's ears perked up at the sound of someone walking into the room.

_Curse these heightened senses…now I'll never get back to sleep._

Kagome sniffed the air carefully, and relaxed a little when she realized it was just Inuyasha returning.

She lifted the lid of an eye as inconspicuously as possible to see what the inu-hanyou was up to.

She watched as Inuyasha carefully made his way towards her mat, trying not to make any noise.

_What is he doing?_

Kagome focused on relaxing her body, which had stiffened when he'd crouched down next to her.

_Is he just…just….staring at me?....Well that's not weird at all….._she thought as she mentally rolled her eyes.

Kagome had just managed to relax, when she suddenly stiffened again. Inuyasha was bending down closer to her so that his face was only about half a foot away.

"She looks so much like her. How can she be…. gone?" he whimpered quietly.

Kagome felt something click in her head. Not only had she transformed because of Kikyo's soul, but she must also have an uncanny resemblance with the dead girl. Geez, why didn't Kikyo just come back from the grave? It sure would save Kagome a lot of problems.

"Keh… makes my life a lot easier now that the bitch is gone…," Inuyasha whispered gruffly.

After a while Inuyasha stood up, glanced down at her one last time, and then silently disappeared.

Kagome shut her eye, and tried to force herself to go back to sleep, wishing she had never even been woken up in the first place.

--~~--

The next morning she awoke to an empty hut; no sign of the old priestess or the inu hanyou.

Kagome arched her back and stretched in a very cat-like manner, then stood up and walked outside into the streaming sunlight.

Today seemed like such a cheerful day that for once Kagome enjoyed having enhanced senses. She opened them completely to the sights, sounds, and smells of the woods and little village below.

It wasn't long before her nose picked up the smell of steamed rice wafting on the breeze, and she immediately set her sights on the small houses below. Her stomach gurgled. Geez, was there ever a time when her dang stomach wasn't asking for food?

Kagome turned and wondered back into hut, in search of a disguise. After hearing about the way hanyou were treated she had decided that maybe it would be best if she appeared human when she entered the village…

When she stepped back out she looked like any other village girl (or at least she hoped). The puffy red pants and plain white shirt seemed a little odd. She shrugged as she pulled a red head scarf from one of the pant pockets.

After carefully wrapping her ears and tucking her tail in, she began her descent to the village and, hopefully, breakfast.

--~~--

Kagome slowly climbed the hill that led up to Kaede's hut, wondering about all the double- takes and strange stares people had given her. Was one of her ears poking out or something?

She reached up and gently felt around. Nope… Both ears were securely concealed beneath the red fabric.

Oh well.

Kagome let her thoughts drift away as she walked into the hut, looking for something to do.

She quickly realized nobody had returned while she had been gone, and Kagome moseyed outside, slowly walking down the edge of the woods.

When she happened upon a little trail that led further into the forest she couldn't quench the urge to find out where it went, so she stepped into the shadow of the trees and began her journey.

But that adventure was short lived…

She hadn't gone very far when she suddenly felt the air change, sending an involuntary shiver up her spine. Something was wrong, and Kagome tried to melt the panic that was slowly freezing her.

"Inu- Inuyasha? Is that you?" She turned in a circle, sniffing the air carefully. "Very funny…you can come out now…," she pleaded weakly. Nothing moved save for a light breeze that agitated the leaves. Kagome slowly backed off the path, deciding maybe she should listen to her instincts and get the hell away from here.

And then it came.

And this was definitely an _**it**_…there was simply no other way to describe a giant caterpillar that had the head and torso of a woman attached to it….

_Ugh…talk about a messed up hanyou, this one has it bad…and are those six **human arms** coming out of her?_

Kagome shuddered as the thing's mouth opened to reveal pointed teeth and a long forked tongue.

"Give me the Jewel! Give _me_ the _Jewel_!"

_Gross…it talks too…._

* * *

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-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	6. The Chance of Going Home

Part 2 of the re-edited version of _The Chance…_

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha…

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* * *

Chapter 6

Kagome snarled and leapt away from the gruesome creature before her.

"Give me the Jewel!" it repeated.

"I don't have the stupid Jewel!" she yelled back. "So go ahead and crawl, or whatever it is you do, back to where you came from!"

"Foolish girl…you can't trick me! I know you have it! Give it to me!"

Kagome barely managed to jump out of the way as the giant caterpillar slammed its long body down, crushing a few trees. Without thinking, she took off up the path, sprinting as fast as she could go.

But that damned caterpillar was fast.

Kagome narrowly dodged another blow, and changed directions, hoping to throw it off…

She quickly realized she'd made a mistake when she felt something wrap around her ankle and jerk her out of the air, sending her flat on her face. Kagome lay still for a second, trying to make sure nothing was broken, before slowly lifting her head.

Her ears flicked back at the sound of the caterpillar's voice.

"Where is it? You're hiding it from me…."

Kagome snapped her head around and bared her teeth at the ugly hanyou, determined to look like she knew what she was doing.

The caterpillar swung its elongated body about so that it could coil around Kagome's waist. She scratched at it feverishly, trying to escape before she was rendered immobile, but she felt the air whoosh out of her lungs as the creature suddenly tightened its hold, crushing her much like an anaconda would crush a helpless mouse.

_Unh…can't…breath._

If help didn't come soon, the world would be one less cat hanyou….

Kagome squished her eyes shut, trying to think about her family and home one last time before she died…and then the strong stench of _dog_ washed over her. Her eyes snapped open right as a streak of red and silver flew past.

A shrill scream ripped from the giant half-demon caterpillar and Kagome's ears clamped down on her head, trying to block the painful noise from destroying her sensitive eardrums. She gasped as the strong grip around her middle loosened, her oxygen deprived lungs demanding air.

Kagome clawed her way out of the taunt muscles that writhed in pain all around her, finally managing to leap to the safety of a nearby tree. From her perch she watched as the caterpillar unwound itself, revealing all of the places her claws had ripped away chunks of flesh.

"Stupid _dog_! Who do you think you are to interfere with me!?" The creature screeched.

"Keh…Wouldn't you love to know? Too bad you're going to die in 10 seconds…"

Kagome breathed in and out steadily, trying to get her breathing back to normal, as she watched Inuyasha shred the caterpillar to pieces. With a few slices of his razor sharp claws, the six human arms attached to the woman's torso plopped to the ground… next went her head.

The piercing screams coming from the woman's mouth were abruptly cut off as the head rolled away from the body. Kagome watched the decapitated carcass sway back and forth before thudding to the ground and dissolving into nothing but bones.

She jumped as Inuyasha landed on the branch next to her, causing the whole thing to shake and make an ominous cracking noise.

"What were you thinking, ya stupid cat!?"

"What do you mean? It's not like I asked to be attacked by a huge demented caterpillar!"

"Well you shouldn't have wondered off by yourself…"

"Why do you care what I do?!"

"Because I need you to find the Jewel!"

"I am _not _finding that stu—what in the _hell_ do you think you're doing!!"

Her eyes had widened in surprise when she felt his hand rub across her stomach, and now said hand was making its way up her body, feeling carefully. Kagome swiped a claw at him, barely missing the offending hand as he jerked it away.

He glared at her. "What do you _think_ I'm doing wench? I'm checking to see if you got any injuries from that Caterpillar!…"

"I'm fully capable of doing that myself! Now get your hands off of me you perv!"

Kagome swatted at the other hand that was feeling up the length of her leg, and suddenly found herself falling through the air…

The branch had broken.

When she hit the forest floor she expected to break just about every bone in her body, but her landing was surprisingly a lot more comfortable than she thought landing on hard packed earth would be.

"Get off of me…"

Kagome opened her tightly closed eyes, trying to locate the muffled voice. She reared back as a pair of golden eyes glared at her from a few inches below. She scrambled off Inuyasha's chest and backed away from him until her back hit the tree behind her.

"Ya know…I thought cats were supposed to always land on their feet…," he complained as he picked himself up off the ground.

"Yeah well, I'm only half cat…," Kagome sniffed.

He snorted at her dry humor before running his claws through his long silver hair in an effort to get rid of the little twigs and leaves that had tangled in it. Kagome did the same to hers, wistfully thinking about the brush that sat on her dresser at home.

_Home…_

"I'm leaving," she declared.

Inuyasha paused in his ministrations to his hair and stared at her as she walked further into the woods. "And just where do you think you're leaving to?"

"I'm going home."

"Tch…good luck with that."

Kagome flicked her tail and dashed into the woods, ignoring Inuyasha's skepticism.

"See ya, Dog- Boy!"

--~~--

Kagome was able to find her way back to Kaede's hut easily by following her own scent trail that she had left earlier when she'd started her walk through the woods.

_Damn…Kaede's back…_

Kagome really had been hoping to just grab her stuff and leave quietly.

_M'kay…now how am I going to get my clothes without her seeing me?_

She poked her head in the door trying to form a plan. When she noticed that Kaede was turned away from the doorway Kagome crouched down and tipped-toed into the hut on silent cat feet. Maybe she'd be able to get in and out without the old miko even noticing.

She quickly grabbed her ragged clothing and snuck back to the exit.

"You can't go back Kagome."

_What the? Is this old woman really not a youkai? How did she know I was in here?_

Kaede was still facing the other direction, chopping onions steadily.

"Did you hear me Kagome?"

Kagome growled lightly. "Why can't I go back Kaede?"

"You must find the Jewel first." She scraped the minced onions into a pot.

"And then can I go home?"

Kaede started chopping a tomato. "Depends…it's really up to the Well of Ages whether or not you can go back."

_Great… a freakin well is going to decide whether or not it feels like taking me back home…_

"How do you know it won't let me go back right now?"

"I don't."

"But didn't you just say……." _Oh forget it…there's only one way to find out for sure…_

Kagome left the sentence unfinished and bounded through the doorway, leaving the old miko and the hut behind.

_Now there's just the teensy problem of __**finding**__ the well…_

_--~~--_

Inuyasha was perched in a tree when she streaked past him.

Obviously she hadn't found any injuries on her person. He lifted his nose slightly, letting her scent drift to him.

_Hmm…she smells worried and hopeful…so that means…._

Yup…the cat was definitely going to look for the well.

Inuyasha sighed before standing up and stretching his muscles.

_Might as well go after her to make sure she doesn't get herself killed…_

With one last sigh he slipped out of the tree to the ground below, and began to follow.

--~~--

_Finally! It only took me two hours, but hey…I found it, so who cares?_

Kagome stared into the dark shadows that blanketed the bottom of the well, vaguely wondering if she was brave enough to actually jump into it. She breathed in deeply and forced her doubts away, focusing only on thoughts of home.

_Okay…you can do this…just put your foot up like that…very good….and close your eyes… now jump!_

Kagome placed her foot on the lip of the well and propelled herself into the air so she would fall directly into the gaping black hole that would supposedly take her home.

_Goodbye Kaede…Inuyasha…_

--~~--

Inuyasha watched as Kagome disappeared into the well, restraining himself from calling out to her.

He knew she wasn't going to get through. Kaede had explained it to him this morning when he'd brought the question up; she had to find the Jewel first.

And that was fine with him.

As soon as she found that Jewel he was going full youkai, and after that he didn't care what happened to the wench.

Yet in spite of these thoughts, he couldn't stand being there when he heard her crying…or was she…._laughing?_

The dog- hanyou stood up and disappeared into the forest, making a hasty retreat from the distressing sounds of the girl in the well.

--~~--

She didn't make it… she knew she didn't.

There hadn't been freezing darkness, pleasurable feelings, or a floating sensation. She'd fallen straight down into the bottom of the well, unable to get back home.

_Well this officially sucks…_

Kagome was a little surprised to find that she was crying, her teardrops creating little patterns on the dry ground beneath her.

_Heh… _she laughed silently. _Some well this is…there's not even any water down here…_

Dry sobs shook her body as she laughed.

_Maybe I'm insane… I mean, who laughs and cries at the same time?_

Kagome sat there, refusing to think about anything, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she could pretend she was okay and this was not happening….

--~~--

Inuyasha lounged in a tree just outside of the little clearing; far enough that he couldn't hear her crying (or laughing?), but close enough to protect her if need be.

It had been a couple hours, and she still hadn't reappeared. Inuyasha could feel his patience wearing thin.

Hadn't she cried enough yet?

With a growl he vacated the tree he had taken residence in and made his way towards the well, fully intending to jump in and get the stupid cat out himself if he had too. He couldn't afford to leave her in there to rot when she could be doing something useful like looking for the Jewel.

When he heard Kagome's soft footsteps he froze.

_Keh… guess the wench finally came to her senses._

He silently leapt into the nearest tree, not wanting her to know he was nearby because she could get the wrong conclusion.

_Might think I was worried or something_.

And he didn't want that to happen because he was _definitely_ not worried about her.

Inuyasha peered down into the darkness and shivered at the expression that was on her face….or lack of one.

Her face was a cold mask that showed no emotion, eyes glinting with a fierce spark that caused a strange thrill to run through his body.

Her resemblance to Kikyo right now was unnerving…. in fact she was even dressed like the dead hanyou.

Inuyasha watched the cat hanyou walk away, deciding she would be _just_ fine on her own for now.

--~~--

Kagome knew Inuyasha was in the tree she'd just walked under, but she ignored him.

Right now her mind was set on one thing and one thing only: finding that blasted Hanyou Jewel.

After sitting in the well for hours, she had had time to calm down and think things through.

She knew she needed to find the Jewel, but after considering that she had almost died this afternoon she decided that learning how to defend herself was a must. She'd also decided that she wanted to test her spiritual powers… if she even had any.

_And I need to ask Kaede about that prophecy…didn't it give some kind of clue about where to find the Jewel?_

Kagome moved through the night fluidly, blending in with the black shadows of the trees. When she reached Kaede's hut, she stood outside, not quite wanting to part with the comforting darkness that wrapped around her like a blanket.

But then her stomach growled.

_Of course…I'm starving __**yet**__ again…_

She picked her way across the small clearing and poked her head through the doorway.

Kaede was sitting near the fire eating a bowl of stew, two more steaming on the floor next to her. Kagome's eyes narrowed, the old hag had known she wasn't going to make it through the well.

She mentally calmed herself and wordlessly sat down beside the aged miko. Kaede handed her one of the bowls without a word and they continued to eat in silence.

Nobody said anything when Inuyasha walked into the hut a few minutes later, an irritated look on his face. Kaede snorted at him before handing over the other bowl of stew.

--~~--

He snuck a glance at Kagome as he sat down across from her. Right now she was absorbed with eating, so her face was relaxed into an easier expression.

But the damn cat's smell was starting to get on his nerves.

_Something's up, and I don't like it one bit…_

Inuyasha looked away as her eyes met his over the fire, and he stared down at his bowl intently.

"If you don't eat that soon," she said, "it's going to get cold."

His eyes found hers again, only this time in a glare. "I know that, ya stinkin' cat…why don't you mind your own business."

He growled lightly as her large brown eyes mocked him. '_Like your one to talk,' _they said_._

_Damn… she must've known I was there today…_

Inuyasha looked away once again and tipped his bowl to his lips, draining it in a couple of swallows.

_I am __**not**__ letting her get to me…_

Kaede stood up and took the bowls outside to clean them when they all finished eating.

Kagome spoke as soon as the old lady was out the door. "I've made a decision, Inuyasha."

"And why should I care?" he grumbled.

"Because you," she smiled sweetly, "are going to teach me how to fight…."

--~~--

"No way! I'm not teaching a dumb _cat_ how to fight…," he turned sideways and crossed his arms. "Besides, our techniques are too different…"

Kagome had expected a reaction like this. "Please Inuyasha…just the basics, that's all I'm asking."

"Nope." He looked away from her and stuck his nose in the air.

_How mature of him…_

But she wasn't going to give up yet.

"It'll help me find the Jewel faster…."

She watched one of his eyes crack open, regarding her suspiciously.

"Fine…," he barked after a while of speculation, "I'll do it. But don't expect me to go easy on you."

She smirked at him, pleased with herself.

"Oh I won't…"

--~~--

"Kagome," Kaede limped into the room, "you should also learn how to use your spiritual powers."

Both hanyou jumped at the sudden input from the old woman.

_That damn old hag scared me….how the hell does she get around so quietly?…_

Inuyasha watched Kagome stand up to help Kaede put the leftover stew away, both women casually talking about the fact that Kagome could destroy herself if her powers became unbalanced. The dog-hanyou tuned them out and crawled over to his shadowy corner.

_Can't believe I let her get to me…_

He scowled as he thought about Kagome's smug face smirking at him from across the fire. She was obviously pleased with herself for managing to convince him to teach her.

_Stupid cat…._

_--~~--_

Kagome lay down later that night thinking about everything Kaede had told her. Apparently the old miko thought that the Jewel could be found in the Mountains of Intrigue…but where these mountains were and how big the mountain range could be was a mystery to Kagome.

Kaede had promised to provide her with a map tomorrow so she could see where she was now in relation to the mountains.

"_But don't worry," _the old woman had said reassuringly, "_Inuyasha will be with you, so you won't get lost even without the navigational charts."_

Kagome groaned and turned over on her sleeping mat.

_I don't want him to come…he complains too much…_

But she was going to have to get used to it, because their training began tomorrow …

* * *

I'm going to edit the next chapter too eventually…

So bear with me…

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-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	7. The Training

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters…….I only own the plot of my story.

Hi! It's thundering and lightening where I'm at…so I'm stuck inside.

With nothing better to do, I decided to go ahead and finish up Chapter 5.

Read -N- Review please!

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Chapter 7

Kagome awoke the next morning feeling much better. A good night's sleep could do wonders. She was pleased to see that Kaede had kept her promise and left some clean clothes next to her sleeping mat for her.

She glanced around, hair still tousled from sleep. She was in an empty hut again. Why was she always the last person awake? Oh well.

She grabbed the clothes and stood up. She needed a bath.

Kaede had said something about a river out back…..

Kagome walked outside of the hut and was glad to see the sun was out. Her bath would be much more enjoyable in the sun rather than the rain. She walked behind the little hut and into the woods a little ways, using her nose to sniff out the river. When she found it she stopped to study the pretty scene it created.

The river was wide, clear, and deep and it was surrounded by a ledge of rocks on one side. The side she was currently standing on was grassy and lush. There was actually a pretty big clearing where she was. Maybe she could convince Inuyasha to let her train here.

She sat her clean training clothes on a nearby rock, and began to strip down. She walked carefully out into the cool water, not wanting to slip and fall, and began to clean herself.

* * *

Inuyasha peered down at the cat hanyou as she stepped into the water…..

…..naked.

He quickly turned around on his rocky ledge, and prayed he hadn't been spotted. He could feel his face burning. He was _soooo_ dead if she found him. He slunk away from the river as quietly as possible.

When he felt like he was out of hearing distance he let out a loud 'Keh'. He wouldn't have even been near the river if it wasn't for her. He was trying to find a good place to start her training and had just happened to be looking at the clearing across the river.

He had frozen when he saw the cat walk into the clearing. He was curious as to what she was doing.

Of course all questions were answered when she began undressing.

Inuyasha continued to fume in what he had claimed as 'his tree'. He felt his face begin to cool.

It wasn't like the stupid cat even had anything to be proud of; she didn't look that great to him……

He felt his face begin to flame.

Crap. He was going to have to get that under control before he began her training.

* * *

Kagome climbed out of the water and felt her skin heat as the sun beat down on it. She was dry before she was even fully dressed. She sniffed. She thought she could detect the scent of a certain dog hanyou. He had better not been spying on her or there was going to be some serious 'sitting' going on.

He must be somewhere nearby. Kagome would look for him after she returned her dirty clothes to the hut. She was rather pleased with the training clothes Kaede had supplied for her. It was like they were made just for her. The clothes were dark and form fitting, so she wouldn't have any drag. There was even a place on the back of the pants that allowed her tail to poke out, which she was immensely grateful for. Yesterday she had been rather uncomfortable…..

Kagome used the hair band that had originally been in her hair when she came through the well, to bind her hair up in a tight ponytail. It was a wonder to her how she had managed to keep up with the thing.

Hair and tail swinging, she started back to the hut with her load of laundry. Speaking of laundry, she must have left her t- shirt and shorts back in the well yesterday. She would go back for them later. She didn't think they would be going anywhere anytime soon.

She walked in the hut and waved brightly to Kaede who had returned from wherever she had disappeared to.

"You look much better child."

"I _feel_ much better. By the way thanks for these training clothes, they fit me perfectly."

"They were my sister's."

"Oh, well, thank you for letting me use them," Kagome said awkwardly. Great, she was wearing Kaede's dead sister's training clothes. Eeyeew. Oh, well. She would grin and bear it; they were all she had to train in after all. "Well, I'm going to find Inuyasha. I'm ready to start my training."

"Have fun, you two try not to fight."

"Uhh, that's the whole point though."

"Oh you know what I mean!" Kaede swatted the grinning hanyou out the door.

* * *

It only took Kagome a few minutes to track Inuyasha. She found him in a tree, sulking about something. Of course.

"Hey Dog- boy I'm ready for our lesson." She called up to him. He plopped down next to her.

"Are ya sure wench?" He popped his knuckles.

Kagome looked at him in annoyance. "I have a name you know. I don't think you've even used it a single time since I've been here."

"And your point is?"

"USE IT DOG-BOY!!"

Inuyasha stepped back and clamped his ears to his head. She had yelled that rather loudly……

She watched his eyes narrow as he recovered.

"I'll call you whatever I want…..wench."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "C'mon lets get this stupid lesson over with. Where are we training?"

"At the river, behind Kaede's house."

Well that was easier than she thought. She was expecting to have to throw a big fit in order to get him to go there.

"Oh good! I know where you're talking about! I took a bath there earlier." Cheery mood restored, she bounded off into the woods.

But she was curious as to why Inuyasha's face was suddenly as red as his clothing…..

* * *

Inuyasha followed the leaping cat towards the training grounds. He was furiously hoping his face returned to its normal color by the time he got there. He didn't think she had seen his blush before she left, so maybe he was still safe.

He leapt neatly over the cat's head to avoid colliding with her. Why had she stopped?

Oh right, they were here.

"Ok, what are you teaching me first?"

He studied her. "We'll start with defense, since that's going to be most important to you."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Nothing…..just that you have an extremely high tendency of getting into trouble."

"Well it's not like I mean to."

"Whatever, just get ready to defend yourself."

He watched her slide into clumsy defense stance. She watched him with cautious eyes.

He leapt, claws out.

She leaned forward to block his claws. He landed and jumped behind her. Her back was wide open.

He came down and pushed her over.

She turned around from her spot on the ground and glared at him.

"First rule of defense……_never _leave your back open.

* * *

Stupid dog.

How was she supposed to know not to leave her back open?

"What am I _supposed_ to do?" she spat at him in frustration.

"Defend yourself."

"Yeah, but how do I do that?"

"Don't leave any openings, and then I won't be able to strike you."

Openings eh? Well, maybe if she just dodged all his attacks he wouldn't be able to find any. She stood up, and informed him that she was ready.

This time he came at her on the ground, running. She waited until he was almost on her, then she sprung back. Inuyasha's claws met air.

He was springing after her in an instant. She dodged sideways, his claws within an inch of her.

Geez, was he really trying to rip her to shreds?

She dodged again. He snarled.

"You can't keep dodging; you're going to tire yourself out. You need to find a way to block my attacks."

Block his attacks? How was she going to do th--?

She tripped. Inuyasha was on her in a second.

"Well now….isn't this familiar?" He smirked down at her. She was laying on her back, with him straddling her waist…….again.

"Get off me ya dumb dog!" She pushed against his chest, and was surprised when she felt his weight lift off of her. She was sure he was going to torment her just because she had fallen again.

She stood up and dusted herself off. She looked up at Inuyasha. What the? Was he blushing?

He turned so she couldn't see his face. She waited until he turned back around, a few seconds later. Maybe she had been imagining it? His face looked normal now…..in fact he hadn't even broken a sweat yet. Kagome wiped at her own forehead. She was definitely sweating.

Especially in these black clothes.

She rolled the sleeves off her shirt up. Much better.

"Done yet?"

She glanced over at Inuyasha, and glared. "Yes, and I'm ready for you to actually teach me something."

"Okay then, here's the second rule of defense……..don't get side-tracked and fall down like a total moron."

Ok then, this time she would watch her back and surroundings. Now she just had to figure a way to block those stupid claws of his.

"Are you ready?"

She crouched. "I've been ready" She would just have to think of something when the time came.

She watched carefully as Inuyasha began circling her, she turned with him so she could keep an eye on him and keep her back safe.

Suddenly he sprung. She swerved to the side, dodging him. He was turned back around in a second. He began circling her again.

He sprung. She dodged.

'C'mon think Kagome, what can you do to block him?' She studied him while she thought about it.

Ah ha! She felt a light bulb go off somewhere in her head. She had an idea, and it definitely wasn't full-proof, but she'd give it a try.

She waited for Inuyasha to spring.

* * *

That stupid cat was thinking. He could see her attention slipping. He waited a few seconds, letting her do some thinking so that maybe she would actually _do_ something.

He sprung.

Wham!

What the?

'She just blocked one of my attacks……with her leg. How in the hell could she lift her leg that high? Damn, she's smirking.' Inuyasha growled and swiped his claws again.

He got her that time.

"Rule number three", he said, "don't ever let your guard down."

Kagome was in the ground again, but this time her expression was cocky. "I got you! Betcha' didn't even see that one coming."

"Uh, you're the one on the ground ya stupid cat"

She stood up, confident smile still in place.

"Bring it on dog- boy."

* * *

Kagome was glad her mother had made her take gymnastics a few years ago. That was the only reason she was able to kick her leg straight up in front of her to block Inuyasha's attack. She hadn't done anything like that for years though. She probably should have stretched first.

She would feel the pain later. Right now she needed a new tactic to block dog- boy, she couldn't do the same thing because now he would be expecting it.

She switched her tail behind her, back and forth. She tensed waiting for the dog to do something. He leapt……into the trees?

Crap.

Now what was she going to do? She had no idea which direction he was going to come from.

OWW!

She was on the ground again. Inuyasha had jumped out of the tree behind her.

"Fourth rule…..use all of your senses."

Oh yeah! She probably could have heard him if she had listened hard enough. Darn it!

She stood up…..again. She was really starting to become close friends with the ground.

She readied herself. Inuyasha began to walk towards her, crouched in an offensive stance. She backed away from him.

He kept pushing towards her.

She kept backing.

She saw his crouch sink lower. He was about to spring.

He sprung. She leapt backwards in an attempt to dodge his attack…...

….and promptly fell into the river.

* * *

Inuyasha sat on the edge of the river bank, looking down into the water. Heh Heh. Take that ya stupid cat.

She came up sputtering in surprise. Obviously she hadn't expected that. "I got you….betcha' didn't even see that one coming."

She scowled up at him, recognizing the words she had used earlier. Her ears were flicking little water droplets from them. She swam over and climbed out of the river. She shook, trying to rid herself of the clinging water.

"Fifth and final rule of defense……be aware of your surroundings."

His ears picked up some mumbling coming from the girl. "I'll show you being aware of my surroundings."

He watched as she marched over to him. He smirked. She leaned forward and smiled sweetly, a little fang poking out. He leaned back, eyes widening.

What was she up t--?

She pushed him in the chest. He could feel himself falling backwards off the edge of the rock he had been balancing on.

Crap.

He fell into the water, her laughter ringing in his ears.

"Rule number three", she mocked, "_never _let your guard down."

* * *

A couple of hours later, both hanyou agreed it was time for some lunch. It was well past mid- day by now, and after training for about 3 hours they were both starving. They tromped into Kaede's hut, and sat down. Both were in a bad mood…..training on an empty stomach was not a good mixture for either of them.

Kaede handed them each a cool glass of water. They were served lunch a few minutes later. Both hanyou tore into the food like they hadn't eaten in days. Kaede cleared her throat, and waited patiently until their hunger needs had been satisfied.

When Kagome was finished, she quickly washed the remnants of food down with a swig of water. Hunger pains gone, and positive mood returned, she stood up and washed her plate before returning to sit next to Kaede.

"How was your first day of training?"

Kagome snuck a look at Inuyasha before replying. "It was great; I made a new friend too."

Kaede raised a brow quizzically "Oh really? And just who might that be?"

Kagome scowled. "The ground."

Trying to recover Kagome's good mood, Kaede changed the subject.

"I found the navigational charts."

Kagome and Inuyasha's ears perked up. "Really? When can I look at them?"

Kaede smiled. "How about after our lesson? That is, if you're not too tired by then."

Kagome shook her head. "I'll be fine."

"Come then, let's get started."

* * *

Kaede led Kagome back to the little clearing she and Inuyasha had been training in earlier.

"Sit there." Kagome walked over to a nearby rock and took a seat. Kaede pulled an arrow from the quiver that was slung over her shoulder.

"Now I want you to close your eyes and focus on finding your miko half. I want you to feel what kind of power is sitting inside you."

Kagome closed her eyes and focused on finding the power that Kaede spoke of. In her mind she could see her dark half and her light half. Figuring her light half was her miko side she focused on that area of herself. Kagome nearly fell backwards when a bright light suddenly spiked behind her eyelids. She snapped her eyes open and waited for the spots of light to disappear from in front of her eyes.

"Did you feel it?"

"I- I think so." Kagome shook her head. That spike of light definitely wasn't her miko powers. Right before it had happened she had tapped into her powers, and they definitely weren't that bright or powerful. Something else was inside of her…..like some other power maybe?

"Now that you know what your powers feel like, I want you to focus on calling them to the surface."

Kagome cut off her mental tirade and listened to Kaede's instructions. She watched as the older miko closed her eye and held the arrow in front of her. The arrow tip suddenly flared to life, emitting a beautiful yellow glow. Kagome compared it to the color gold and decided that it was definitely _not_ gold. It was a pulsing yellow that radiated with pureness. Kaede opened her eye and smiled at the arrow tip.

"Every miko has a different color spiritual energy. Mine is yellow which symbolizes wisdom, joy, and happiness. It is also one of the purest and brightest colors of energy there is." Kaede continued to smile as the yellow slowly faded from the arrow tip. "I want you to try and light the tip of the arrow with your spiritual powers just like I did. Focus on calling the energy forth and then transferring it from your body to the arrow."

Kagome nodded, and eagerly took the arrow from Kaede. She was curious as to what color her own spiritual energy would be. She closed her eyes, searching for the energy she had seen before. She was anticipating the bright light from before, but relaxed when it didn't come. She could still feel it inside of her, but now it was lurking behind her miko powers and out of the way. Kagome centered her attention on the light pulsing inside of her. She felt it building up, and guided it to her hands. With her eyes still closed she focused on transferring it into the arrow that she clasping tightly. Kagome opened her eyes and was quite pleased to see a soft pink radiating from the arrow tip.

"Ah, so you and Kikyo are not completely alike. Your spiritual energy is pink, whereas hers was white. Pink is the color that symbolizes love, beauty, and acceptance. It suits you very well."

Kagome blushed. "Thank you Kaede. Um, can you tell me what white means?"

"White stands for purity and clarity. It is a cold color though, and unfortunately that was a fitting for my sister. She was never as sociable as you."

Kagome felt relieved that not every thing about her was the same as Kikyo. She wasn't Kikyo and she was getting tired of people acting like she was. "Kaede, what is the color of the Hanyou Jewel? It's made of spiritual energies right?"

Kaede smile turned hard. "Ironically, the Hanyou Jewel is blue. Blue spiritual power stands for peace and calmness." She snorted. "So far it has created neither."

Kagome tilted her head down and frowned. That flash of light in her head had been blue. Maybe the Hanyou Jewel was trying to call her or communicate with her or something.

Kagome didn't want to bother Kaede about it. It probably was nothing.

"Kagome?"

She looked up quickly. "Sorry, I was day- dreaming."

"That's ok. Let's continue to practice lighting the arrow and controlling your powers."

"Err, right." Kagome shoved the thought of the Jewel into the back of her mind, and followed Kaede's lead in a series of exercises.

* * *

As the sky began to darken, Inuyasha headed back to Kaede's hut. Those two would probably be back by now. He shuffled through the doorway just as the women were putting away their dinner plates.

Geez.

"Ya know, I really like the way you guys waited for me before you started eating."

"Aww, we didn't forget about you Inuyasha. Look we saved you some sticky rice, and we even kept it warm." Kagome walked over and carefully sat the bowl of rice at his feet.

He looked at her suspiciously. Obviously her lesson with Kaede had gone better than theirs had.

He watched as she flounced away, tail poised gracefully behind her.

For a split second he imagined what Kikyo would look like _flouncing_. He felt himself shiver at the creepy image. Some things were just better left alone.

* * *

Kagome felt better than she had ever felt before. After the spiritual lesson, she felt cleansed of anything bad that had been lurking inside of her. She was ready to take on the world.

"Kagome"

"Huh?"

"Come here and look at these charts."

Kagome walked over to Kaede and sat down next to her.

Uh oh.

She couldn't read a single word on the map. "Kaede, um, I can't read any of that."

"Don't be silly girl. Nobody can. This is a very ancient text that died out about a century ago."

"Then how can you tell what's what?"

"Well I can because I've been to these places, and I recognize where they are on the map." She lowered her voice. "This is another reason you may need Inuyasha. He's probably been through most of these places before."

"Ya know, I can hear you old hag. There's no point in lowering your voice."

Kagome turned around and stuck her tongue out at the bored looking dog hanyou.

She turned back to Kaede. "Okay, so explain to me where the Mountains of Intrigue are." She watched as Kaede pointed to an impressive mountain range. "Guh…..you think the Jewel is somewhere in there?" Kaede nodded solemnly. "But that could take ages to go though all those mountains. It would be like looking for a needle in a freakin' hay stack!"

"Well maybe not. I've narrowed it down to about two places it could possibly be in."

"Do explain."

Kaede looked thoughtful. "Well the clue is to look where the east and west meet and where darkness lays. So, the most obvious place to look is in the middle of the range where the east and west meet. But then there is also a legendary lake in the mountain range that is called the Lake of Directions. It is shaped like a diamond and each point stands for a direction. You would have to find the spot in the lake where the east and west points cross."

"Which location would be our best bet?"

"I'm going for the lake." The two women looked towards Inuyasha.

"Why would should we look there first Inuyasha?" Kagome watched as he got up to join their little group.

"Because besides the fact that it has the East and West points on it, it is also located underground."

Kagome looked confused.

"It's in the darkness. Isn't that part of the clue? Where darkness lay?"

"Oh yeah! I suppose it would be dark under a mountain." Drats. Kagome had _really_ been hoping that the Jewel wouldn't be in the lake. She didn't want to have to get in the water to look for the stupid thing. It would suck even more if she ended up getting in the lake and the Jewel wasn't there. Then she have gotten wet for nothing.

"So have you actually been to the Lake of Directions?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "But I do know where the entrance is located."

"I think I need at least another week to train before we go though."

Kaede nodded her head in agreement. Inuyasha just let out a 'keh'. It was obvious that he wanted to embark on the journey as soon as possible.

* * *

Kagome decided that she needed another bath before she went to bed. She stood up and let the other two know where she was going before grabbing the clothes Kaede had lent her to sleep in. She walked in the moonlight quietly. When she reached the water she slipped out of her clothes and walked in. What she would give for a hot bath right about now. Her shoulders and back weren't as sore as she had expected them to be after all that training. It must be her new body. It was probably able to take a lot more than her human body.

She scrubbed her body all the way down to her legs. She was happy to note that no muscles had been pulled in the process of kicking Inuyasha in the butt……okay, so maybe she was the one who was getting the butt kicking, but that one kick she had gotten in felt good. Maybe she should practice her backhand springs tomorrow. It wouldn't hurt to be able to flip out of the way of an enemy. She could only imagine the look on Inuyasha's face as she gracefully flipped away from him. She would have to try it.

Kagome climbed out of the river feeling much cleaner than before. She climbed into the clean clothes gratefully, liking the way they rubbed against her smooth skin. She looked at her training clothed once before deciding she needed to wash them. She bent over and stuck the stinky clothes in the water, scrubbing at them vigorously. When she was satisfied she stood up and began to walk back to the hut.

* * *

After hanging her dripping laundry on a tree branch right behind the hut, Kagome walked back inside, finally feeling the last of her energy seep out of her.

Inuyasha was in his corner and Kaede was already snoring on her own sleeping mat. Kagome sat on her mat quietly and watched the dying embers of the fire. Before long she was hypnotized by the cinders, and so feeling her eyelids began to droop she laid down on her mat and was instantly asleep.

Thus ended her third full day away from home.

* * *

I'm going to be on vacation for about a week……which means no internet…..which means no uploads.

I'll be busy writing as many chapters as I can though.

:)

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	8. The Tension

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters…….I only own the plot of my story.

Hey! Here's Chapter 6! I basically wrote it on the way to our lake house…..I was in the car _all_ day. :(

Read –N- Review Please!

and

Thank You to those who have!

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Chapter 8

Kagome woke up before Kaede the next morning. She grinned as she realized that she wasn't the last person to awake……again. Kagome stretched before grabbing a headband to cover her ears. She tucked her tail into the back of her puffy pants. She stood up and snuck out quietly as possible…..

"Oi! Where are you going dressed like that ya stupid cat?"

Kagome cringed. So much for being quiet as possible. She looked up into a nearby tree to see Inuyasha lounging on a low branch.

"For your information I'm going to town to find some breakfast. Now be quiet, it's early and _some_ people are still trying to sleep." Kagome looked pointedly towards the hut where Kaede's snores could still be heard drifting into the morning air.

"Bah, that old woman can't hear anything over her own snoring."

"Well, you should still be quiet all the same…..Say, ya wanna come with me?"

"No, I don't eat breakfast."

"Oh come on, maybe if you eat something you won't be such bad company."

"What's that ya stupid cat?"

"Oh, nothing! I'll be back in a little while. Don't worry about me too much Inuyasha!"

"Feh, I don't plan on it"

Kagome couldn't help but grin at the disgruntled dog- hanyou as she walked away.

* * *

By the time Kagome got back from town, Inuyasha was gone. Kagome didn't spend much time looking for him though. She walked to the back of the hut to retrieve her laundry. It was dry and warm thanks to the sun. Kagome rushed back into the hut to change.

As Kagome was leaving she asked Kaede to let Inuyasha know she was already at the training grounds. Kaede nodded and promised she would pass the message along if she saw him.

Kagome was full of energy. She leapt from tree to tree, nothing but a black blur to anyone who happened to spot her. When she reached the clearing she had trained in yesterday, she did a quick search to see if the missing hanyou was anywhere.

Nope, he wasn't here.

Kagome smiled. She knew what she was going to do to waste some time.

Kagome stretched her muscles, preparing them for the strenuous exercise she was about to put them through. After a few minutes, she felt comfortable enough to start.

She searched for a place in the clearing where the grass grew thick and springy. After finding a spot that fit her needs, Kagome took a few deep breaths. She crouched, her body tensing, ready for the spring.

She sprung.

Instead of flipping forward, her body flew backwards in a graceful arch. Her hands grazed the ground before she was flipping back around to land on her feet.

Kagome grinned. She had never done a better backhand spring in her life. Her hands had barely touched the ground to push her back around! It must be her new hanyou strength that enabled her to do that.

Kagome positioned herself once more, preparing to do another hand spring. Her second one was even better than the last. It was fast, sharp, and quiet. She was light on her feet, which was a good thing because it would allow her to pull out of he flip and defend herself if need be.

Pretty soon she was adding more flips after doing her backhand spring. She was fast and furious.

After about 30 solid minutes of doing flips, Kagome took a break. She was more dizzy than tired. In fact, she hadn't even broken a sweat.

Ah, the joys of being a half demon.

She sat down next to the river and stared into the slowly moving water. She thought about what happened yesterday, when Inuyasha fell into the water. Somehow she had ended up in the water with him and they had begun wrestling. Of course since he was stronger he had won.

Needless to say she was a very unhappy cat hanyou when she climbed out of the water, soaking wet. Kagome had begun their training with a renewed vigor after that little incident.

Speaking of training, it was about time they got started. Kagome stood up and sniffed the air, searching for Inuyasha's scent. It seemed to be coming very strong from behind her. She turned around and took off into the woods, going from treetop to treetop in search of the hanyou.

* * *

Inuyasha was in his tree studying the navigational charts Kaede had given him, when a bundle of black slammed into him. He released the charts as he toppled to the ground. Unfortunately for him dogs don't always land on their feet. He lay on his back for a few painful seconds before jumping up, prepared to murder whoever had run into him.

He growled when he heard her voice.

"And that's what you get for pulling me in the water and trying to force yourself on me!" Kagome sat on his branch looking down at him with a haughty smirk.

He glared up at her. "You were the one who threw a punch at me! I only pulled you in!"

"Either way you were the one who made me get wet…..just accept your payback and take it like a man. I'm sure that little ole' push from little ole' me didn't hurt you?" She made a face, trying to look as harmless as possible.

"Stupid damn cat! If I didn't need you to find that Jewel I would tear you to pieces!"

"Aww Inuyasha, you don't really mean that"

He sent her a glare that clearly said he meant every word.

Kagome hopped down, scattering the charts even more. "Come on dog- boy, I'm ready for my training! Didn't Kaede tell you I was waiting?"

"No, and I'm thankful she didn't. I can't stand being around you. You're always so happy and bouncy. Plus you stink like a cat."

"Well too bad, you're going to have to put up with it until I find that Jewel…..and then I'm outta here. And for the record you don't smell that great either." She wrinkled her nose.

Inuyasha gave a growl of warning before picking up the charts and giving chase. Kagome just laughed and ran faster.

* * *

Kagome tensed her body. Inuyasha had disappeared into the forest, telling her to use what he taught her yesterday to pinpoint where he was going to attack from.

She waited, straining her ears for the slightest rustle of clothing or the sound of a twig snapping. She sniffed the air, trying to catch a whiff of Inuyasha's scent. She narrowed her eyes, searching the trees for any movement.

She found him. He was to her left in a tree above her. She acted like she was still searching, never letting him know that she was on to him.

When he sprang, she was ready. She quickly turned and blocked his claws with her own. She blocked again, before springing away. She stopped and faced him, arms outstretched before her in a defensive pose. He circled her. She turned with him never leaving her back open. He rushed her. She turned sideways, watching his claws miss her by inches. She ducked as his other hand came sweeping towards her. She dashed away, quick enough that he didn't have time throw another attack.

She grinned across the clearing at him. She was a fast learner. They had been going for at least 20 minutes, which was officially her new record.

She studied Inuyasha, trying to read his next move. But while she had been grinning and acting cocky, she had missed him shift his weight. She was completely taken by surprise when he dashed across the clearing and took her feet out from under her.

Well, hell.

She had let her guard down for a total of 2 seconds, and look where it got her. Inuyasha stood above her smirking.

"You were doin' pretty well until you got cocky."

"I'll take that as a compliment", she grunted as she stood up. She dusted the dirt off her dark clothing, and swished her tail, trying to rid it of any dust it had acquired while she had been on the ground. "When are going to teach me to attack? I'm ready for the fun stuff."

"I'm the teacher here, I decide what we do and don't do."

She ignored him. "Say….why don't you have a weapon, like a sword or something?"

"Don't need one."

She snorted. "Just like you don't need breakfast?"

"Yeah, got a problem with ya stinkin' cat?"

"Geez, I was just asking a question. No need to raise your hackles."

"Keh"

Kagome felt a familiar pinch her stomach. "Hey, how 'bout we go one more round and then go get some lunch. We got a late start today and I'm starving."

"You're always starving."

"That's beside the point. Now come on and attack me so we can go eat."

* * *

Kaede had some nice grilled fish waiting for them when they finally got back. Kagome came in smiling and Inuyasha scowling.

Nothing unusual there.

The three ate the meal quickly, and soon Kagome found herself back in the training area. This time she was with Kaede.

"Ok, so now that I'm able to transfer my energy into the arrow, what do I do with it?"

"You shoot it of course." Kaede had brought two bows with her today. She handed Kagome one and began to teach her how to hold it.

Kaede was a little surprised when Kagome raised the bow into a perfect position. "So you've done this before, aye?"

"Actually this is the first time I've ever held a bow in my life."

"That's odd; ye look like you've been doing it for years. Let's see how well you shoot." Kaede went to a nearby tree and sat up a target. She then went back to stand next to Kagome, who was about 100 yards away. Kagome watched as she cocked the arrow, took aim, and fired. The arrow left a yellow wake behind it before slamming into the middle of the target. When it hit yellow sparks flew off in every direction. "That's how you purify demons. This is a miko target that I have sat up for you. It has a special spell on it that will cause it to give off sparks if you've managed to hit it with a purifying arrow." She stepped away. "Now let's see you give it a shot."

Kagome giggled. "Give it a shot! I get it …haha! Kaede you crack me up!"

The old miko gave her a funny look.

Kagome's giggles dissolved. She cleared her throat. "Err, right then, I'll give it a try." Kagome stepped up to where Kaede had recently been standing. She raised the bow into the position she had had it in earlier. Then she focused on reaching inside herself, digging into the pocket of power she had found yesterday. She watched her arrow tip began to shimmer with a pink glow. She drew the string of the bow back as far as she could. She took aim, and then fired.

The arrow zoomed away from her leaving a pink trail. It smacked into the target with a thud. Kagome watched as pink sparks flew off from the spot where her arrow had landed.

"It looks like you have an unnatural talent for archery. That arrow split mine right in two."

Kagome stared in awe at her arrow that had lodged itself between the two halves of Kaede's. She had hit the middle on her first try. Kagome smiled. "That felt good." And she realized that those words were true. For some odd reason it had felt completely natural when she had shot that arrow. Like she had known all along that it would hit its intended target.

Kaede smiled at the hanyou. "With that kind of skill we'll be working on sealing spells in no time. You know, Kikyo was a master archer. I wonder if that has anything to with your newfound talent."

Kagome frowned, she hoped not. She was down right tired of being compared to that girl.

Kaede walked up to the target and wrenched the arrows out. "How about a little contest? Let's see who is the most accurate."

Kagome grinned "You're on."

* * *

The pair stayed out until night fell, shrouding them and the entire woods in darkness. Kagome helped Kaede gather up the arrows and target. The competition between them had been close. Kagome was good, but Kaede had about sixty years of experience on her. There was no way Kagome could beat that.

Inuyasha was sitting in the hut when they got back. He merely glanced up at the two women walking in the door before continuing the conversation he was having with his hand.

"Uhh, Inuyasha…..why are you talking to your hand?" Kagome gave him a weird look as she waited for his answer.

"Use your damn eyes ya stupid cat."

Kagome's look turned into a glare before she looked down at his hand. Was that a….a flea? "Ok so you're talking to a flea?"

"As strange as that may seem yes." Inuyasha looked back down at the little figure in his hand. "This is Myoga. He's a flea youkai. And yes he can talk."

"Pleased to meet you Miss Kagome!" The little flea bowed on Inuyasha's hand. Kagome squatted down to get a better view of him. Myoga looked at Inuyasha slyly "Ehh, quite the looker isn't she Inuyasha? She almost looks the same as your last girlfriend."

Inuyasha growled. "Kikyo was not my girlfriend, and _this_ stupid cat is definitely not." Kagome narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Who said I wanted to be! Kikyo must've been crazy to even consider spending the rest of her life with you!"

Myoga looked between the two. "Ah, young love."

They smacked him at the same time.

At this point Kaede walked over with a bowl of soup and sat down. "Myoga what purpose do you have for coming here?"

After un-flattening himself from the floor, he hopped onto Kaede's shoulder, making sure he was a safe distance from the two hanyou before answering her. "Well, as you know I serve Inuyasha's family, and I've been entrusted to Inuyasha now that his father is gone. But the real reason for my visit to master Inuyasha is to give him a warning." Myoga waited for Inuyasha to respond before going on.

"Yeah, yeah I'm listening old man."

Kagome's ears perked up from where she was standing by the cabinets. She grabbed her bowl of soup and quickly sat down trying to look as nonchalant and uninterested as possible.

"Inuyasha, your brother is not far from here looking for you. He's come to the conclusion that you know where your father's tomb is located. I'm advising you to be on guard because you know how dangerous he can be…..especially when it comes to that sword your father supposedly left behind."

"Keh, I'm not afraid of that bastard. But where the hell did he get the idea that I know where our old man's grave is? I don't know and I don't care."

Kagome was still trying to get over the fact that Inuyasha had a brother. Was he a half demon too? From the way Myoga was talking, she was getting the feeling that he was a full- blooded youkai. And a strong one at that. She continued to eat her soup in silence barely listening to the conversation the others were having.

* * *

Shit.

That's all Inuyasha could think.

Why the hell did Sesshomaru feel the need to torment him? He knew full well what Sesshomaru could do to him. He was bigger, stronger, and it didn't help matters that he was a full youkai. What if he ran into Kagome? She wasn't experienced enough to know a powerful demon when she met one. Sure she was a fast learner, but there was no way she would be able defend herself against his brother. And that smartass mouth of hers would get her in more trouble than anything else.

Damn.

What was he going to do?

He was going to have to be on guard every second of every day now. He probably should follow Kagome around too, just so she won't end up getting killed before he could put her to good use.

He glanced across the fire at her. The stupid girl wasn't even paying attention. She was definitely screwed.

"Myoga, do you know the exact location of my brother."

"Eh heh heh…..no, not exact. I only can tell you he's close."

"Pfft, thanks for all the help ya old fart." Inuyasha rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Your father was such a better master." Myoga sniffed importantly. "He actually _listened_ to my good advice."

"Feh, whatever."

Inuyasha turned his head away from the flea.

Wait.

Where did that damn cat go?

He looked around the room almost frantically. Was she stupid? She probably had left to take a bath.

Geez, didn't Myoga just finish saying that his crazy, psychotic, evil brother was prowling nearby?

She was probably out there alone, completely vulnerable and unprotected.

He'd have to go find her himself.

"I'll be right back." He stood up and ran out of the hut before either of the elders could call him back.

* * *

Kagome chewed on her lip, being careful not to break the skin with her fangs. She was on her way to the river to take a quick bath. She'd slunk out while the other three were still talking, hoping she would be back before any of them noticed she was missing.

She had decided it was safe enough to go take a bath. Besides, Myoga said he was _near_, not actually _here._ But the thought of Inuyasha's brother sneaking up on her while she was bathing, was enough to keep her on guard. She spread out all her senses, including her miko ones. If she couldn't hear, smell, or see the guy, maybe she would be able to sense him with her other powers.

Kaede had said something about auras during yesterday's lesson. She said that usually you could feel the aura of a strong demon, especially if he was nearby.

Kagome peered around the clearing next to the river. She was pretty sure that she was the only one around. She was going to make this a quick bath though. She stripped down and plunged into the cool water, scrubbing at herself furiously. She dipped her head under and ran her hands through her messy hair. She also rubbed her ears before coming up for air.

She froze.

She was getting that same feeling she had experienced when that caterpillar hanyou had been watching her before it attacked. Something was wrong about the air. She climbed out of the water and threw her clothes on her still dripping wet body, her hair leaving trails of water down her back. She grabbed her dirty training clothes before leaving the area on silent cat- feet, trying not to alert whatever was near of her presence.

She nearly screamed when she ran into Inuyasha. She was just inside the trees that made up the edge of the woods.

Exactly how long had he been there. She felt her anger building up.

He grabbed her upper arms, and seemed to be restraining the urge to shake her.

"Are you crazy!" he whispered.

So he felt it too. Something about the air seemed to be telling them to be as quiet as possible. She glared up at him, but could feel her anger turning into fear. "I guess I am…." she whispered back. "Do you feel...um…it…the air?" She gestured around her, in an attempt to better explain what she was trying to ask.

Inuyasha nodded his head showing he understood what she was talking about. "Stay quiet as possible."

She nodded up at him meekly. She had a bad feeling growing in her gut. Something was definitely wrong. She barely noticed when Inuyasha grabbed her hand and started guiding her back through the woods towards Kaede's house.

She nibbled at her lip, this time breaking the skin.

* * *

When Kagome saw Kaede's hut come into view she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. In fact most of the journey back had been rather like a daze for her. She felt like she could let her guard down now, because Inuyasha was there to take over.

But they had made it back without anything terrible happening.

The air was practically suffocating her though. She felt like a little mouse who was trying to keep herself hidden from a night owl. If even the tip of her tail was showing she would surely be caught by the night predator. At this thought she pinned her cat tail to the back of her legs. She wasn't willing to take any chances.

When Inuyasha led her into the hut and let go of her hand she almost whimpered at the loss. She had felt safe when he was with her. She watched him slide the door shut, and sit down next to it. She realized he was probably planning on guarding the door all night. Whatever was out there was definitely dangerous.

She looked at the fire that was still burning merrily and sat down near it. She was a little chilled, not to mention wet. Kaede stood up silently and took Kagome's dirty training clothes from her hand. She hadn't even realized she was still clutching them. She felt Myoga hop onto her shoulder, but she didn't even bother to look at him. She continued staring into the fire. He began talking but she knew he wasn't speaking to her.

"He's closer than I thought."

* * *

Inuyasha nodded at Myoga's statement. Sesshomaru was definitely closer than was safe. In fact if he hadn't found Kagome when he did Sesshomaru probably would have already taken care of her. He looked at the shaken up hanyou who was staring into the fire. He supposed the feeling of Sesshomaru's aura had gotten to her. Heck, he'd experienced it plenty of times and it still chilled him to the bone.

Kagome was a lot more perceptive than he had originally given her credit for. She obviously had felt his brother's presence even before he had managed to find her and bring her home.

But he liked the other Kagome better. This one was quiet and frightened. The one he knew was sharp and witty. He could use some humor right about now.

Inuyasha sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. He watched Kaede put her bow and arrows next to her mat before lying down to go to sleep. His attention was drawn back to Kagome as she crawled away from the fire and onto her sleeping mat. She curled into a little ball and wrapped her tail around her.

Maybe she would be back to normal in the morning. That is, assuming they survived through the night.

* * *

When Myoga disappeared off her shoulder and Kaede was lying in bed, Kagome decided it would probably be best if she tried to get some sleep too. A tired hanyou wouldn't be very helpful in a battle. She curled up on her sleeping mat. She felt lonely and scared. She was starting to realize just how far away from home she was. She was in a dangerous time period; she was in the freakin' Feudal Era.

What would happen if she died before she found the Jewel? Heck, what would happen if she died in this time period? Would her body remain here or go back to her own time? Kagome tried not to think about such things, but it was really hard not to when you felt death in the air.

She squeezed her eyes shut, and gritted her teeth. Maybe clearing her head would help.

She sighed happily as she put her mind at ease.

Besides she was safe…..

….she had a guard dog.

* * *

I'll have Chapter 7 up tomorrow!

Stayed tuned!

:)

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	9. The Half Brother

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters…….I only own the plot of my story.

Hello! Here's Chapter 7! The other day I went tubing…..and not just regular tubing…this was _extreme_ tubing. Ya'll are lucky I can still move my arms to type!

Read -N- Review Please!

Enjoy! ;D

* * *

Chapter 9

Kagome opened her bleary eyes and immediately regretted it. She wanted to stay asleep and not face what was going on around her. Unfortunately her body refused to let her do that. She was awake and now there was no going back. She sat up and took in the people around her.

Inuyasha was still at the door and Kaede was sitting near the fire eating something that resembled rice. Kagome felt like there was a heavy weight on her shoulders. The tension in the air was about to kill her. Instinct was telling her to be quiet, but her mind was telling her to scream. She was going to go crazy if something didn't happen soon. It was like the calm before the storm; you could feel it building but all you can do is wait until the rain finally starts to pour.

Ugh….

Speaking of storms, from what she could see of the sky it looked like some serious black clouds were building up. Kagome looked away from the little window that was near her.

She looked towards the door. Inuyasha looked alert as ever. She wondered if he had been awake all night. She could tell he was tense, obviously waiting for something.

Gah, how long was all this doom and gloom going to last? What was even the cause of it all?

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Why hadn't she put two and two together earlier? It was kinda obvious. Kagome resisted the urge to smack herself in the forehead. Of course only a powerful demon would be able to give off such a stifling aura. It _had_ to be Inuyasha's brother. Geez, he had to be practically standing outside of their door to make the air tingle around them like it was currently doing.

Now that Kagome wasn't completely in the dark about what was going on she felt a little better. At least she had some vague idea of what they were up against.

Didn't Myoga say that Inuyasha's brother was looking for something and thought that Inuyasha knew where it was? That meant wherever Inuyasha was he was bound to show up eventually. Kagome began to feel her stomach knot again. That meant this…pressure in the air wasn't just going to go away.

Ugh…..

Kagome put her head in her hands and silently waited for the storm to break.

* * *

Inuyasha could feel Sesshomaru drawing closer. He bet they had about two or three more hours before he was finally upon them. He sat there, going over and over in his head all the previous battles he had had with his brother. He replayed every move his brother had ever made while they had fought. He needed to find some kind of weakness that his brother had. That would be the only advantage he could have over Sesshomaru.

But try as he might, he couldn't find a single flaw in his brother's fighting techniques. Every move was precise and deadly.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and leaned his head back so that it rested against the wall. He had stayed awake all night. No way was he going to sleep with his bother this close. Plus he was acting as guard for the two women who had somehow gotten to sleep. He knew Sesshomaru would kill them without a second thought if he was given the chance.

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open when Kagome began moving. He watched her sit up and look around, taking everything in. Her gaze settled on a nearby window and he watched her frown. He looked outside to see why. Oh. Storm clouds. Inuyasha wasn't surprised that Kagome disproved of them. They were even making him seem more pessimistic than usual.

Inuyasha continued to stare out the window. He could feel Kagome's eyes on him, studying his posture. He was unbelievably tense.

When he finally felt her gaze leave him, he snuck a quick glance in her direction. She had her head in her hands. She was obviously waiting for the same thing he had been waiting for all night.

* * *

Any second now. Sesshomaru would be here in any second.

It had been a full three hours and everyone in the tiny hut was alert, ready for anything. Kagome had gotten dressed and eaten some breakfast. She was sitting near Kaede who was watching as she used her spiritual powers to light an arrow tip.

Inuyasha barely noticed them though. He was too busy pin pointing Sesshomaru's location. Maybe Myoga could help. He searched the hut for the little flea.

Why that little…the stupid old man had run out on them. That must mean there was a high possibility for danger.

Inuyasha growled and stood up.

He couldn't take it anymore. His brother was taking too long. If he wasn't going to come to Inuyasha, then he'd just have to go to him. He looked behind him and gave a grave 'Stay here' to the women before he was sliding open the door and dashing out.

* * *

Kagome looked up when she heard Inuyasha's voice command her to 'stay here'. She watched as he dashed out the door. Where in the heck did he think he was going?

Hell no.

She wasn't about to let that stupid dog go off and play hero, especially without her.

She stood up, and was out the door before Kaede could even try to hold her back.

She trailed after the red dot that was dashing from tree to tree just ahead of her. She pushed back the nasty knot of foreboding that had lodged itself in the pit of her stomach. She was a cat hanyou now. She shouldn't be afraid….

Besides she probably had nine lives…..yeah…. that meant nine times to die. There was no way Inuyasha's brother could possibly kill her nine times. Either way, she didn't think she was going to give him a chance to test this theory.

Kagome froze when she heard voices in the clearing just ahead.

The storm was about to break.

* * *

Inuyasha stood in a small clearing facing his brother. He narrowed his eyes. His brother was definitely up to something.

He stood across the clearing looking as perfect as ever. His youkai markings stood out proudly against his pale complexion. His long white hair moved silently as a breeze whispered through the clearing. His golden eyes flashed as he sent his brother a smirk.

"Well, well…..we meet again little brother….much to my displeasure."

"What do you want, you bastard?" Inuyasha snarled back.

"How dare you speak to my Lord so!" A little green toad-like youkai appeared next to Sesshomaru's side. He held a staff with the head of a man and a woman carved into the top of it. "Let me teach him a lesson Lord Sessoumaru!"

"No Jaken." The lesser youkai immediately bowed down.

"Y-yes my Lord." Jaken backed away but continued to glare at Inuyasha, obviously wishing his Lord had allowed him to inflict pain on the hanyou.

"Inuyasha, you of course know that I have been searching for father's tomb, correct?"

"Yeah, but you didn't come all the way here just to tell me that now did ya? Go ahead and spit it out Sesshomaru….I know you want something from me."

Sesshomaru crossed the clearing so fast that Inuyasha didn't even have time to register that Sesshomaru's hand was on his neck. He could feel long claws digging into him.

"If you insist little brother."

Inuyasha writhed in his grasp, growling. He watched as Sesshomaru raised his other hand, preparing to strike.

* * *

Kagome had to do something….right now. Inuyasha was practically being strangled down there. She pulled her bow off her back and grabbed an arrow. She took aim, she drew her energy forth, and shot. The arrow whizzed into the clearing and struck its intended target. Well sorta….it served its purpose. She watched as Sesshomaru jerked his arm away from Inuyasha's throat. The arrow had grazed his arm causing a searing pain to jolt through it.

Sesshomaru turned away from his brother and leapt up into the trees. Kagome didn't relax. He was probably stalking her right this second. She dropped out of the tree and ran over to the bushes Inuyasha had retreated into.

"Idiot!" he hissed. "Are you crazy? I told you to stay in the hut!"

"You could at least say thank you…." she whispered back.

"No way! All you've done for me is get Sesshomaru even more pissed."

"You needed help…."

"I had it under control…" he gritted out, as he rubbed his neck.

Kagome snorted. "The definition of 'under control' must be different in this time, because in my time you definitely did _not_ have it under control."

Inuyasha glared at her. "Just get out of here ya stupid cat."

She glared right back. "Not a chance, dog- boy."

"Brother I see your despicable taste hasn't changed any in the last fifty years."

Both hanyou looked up to see an enraged Sesshomaru standing in the tree above them. They backed into the clearing together, careful to keep Sesshomaru in their sights.

"You should have stuck with that other cat hanyou, she looked much better than this one."

Inuyasha smirked. "I hate to say this, but for once I agree with you… Ow! What was that for ya damn cat?! "

Kagome growled "What do you think idiot! Grr… next time I won't bother to save your ass…." Usually Kagome wasn't one fro cussing, but right now she was _pissed_. How dare those stupid dogs insult her like that! Why in the hell was this stupid Kikyo girl always better than her?

Kagome continued her seething.

* * *

Inuyasha had to force himself not to step away from Kagome. She was absolutely livid. Sheesh, why did that stupid comment bother her so much anyways?

His focus was suddenly snapped away from the cat hanyou when his brother rushed him, claws raised. He attempted a dodge; he didn't make it. Sesshomaru had picked the right time to attack; Inuyasha had been too busy with Kagome.

Inuyasha felt an intense pain in his head as Sesshomaru's claws finally made contact. He couldn't see through his right eye. He felt his body spasm as Sesshomaru's claws began probing into his eyeball. He finally felt the claws slide out. Inuyasha immediately pressed his hand to his eye to stop the blood from flowing. Damn, what if his eye was messed up forever?

He glared at his brother with his good eye. "What was that for?!"

Sesshomaru held up a small black marble. "This is a black pearl….and if I'm correct, the portal to Father's tomb. Jaken bring the staff of two heads, quickly!"

Inuyasha watched as Jaken stumbled into view with the weird staff he had threatened him with earlier. Sesshomaru placed the pearl on the ground and put the end of the staff directly on top of it.

"Look Lord Sesshomaru! The head of the woman is singing! You've found it!"

Sesshomaru lifted the staff off of the pearl and stepped away. Inuyasha stared as the small black void of the pearl began to widen until it was large enough for a person to step into.

"Farewell little brother! Don't even think of following….you'll only be signing your death contract." Sesshomaru stepped into the void and vanished, his servant following in his wake.

Inuyasha turned to where Kagome stood. "Stay here! I'm going--" Where did she go?

Inuyasha looked back to the portal. "Hurry up dog- boy! He's getting away!" He watched open- mouthed as Kagome plunged into the blackness. He have to hand it to her, she had more guts than he'd given her credit for.

After wiping his bloody hand down the front of his shirt and then pressing it firmly back over his eye, Inuyasha rushed to the shrinking portal and leapt into the darkness.

* * *

When Kagome jumped through the portal she knew there was no going back. If she had been scared earlier, it was nothing compared to this. But even though she was scared she was also angry. She had watched this Sesshomaru guy scare half the town with his aura, try to kill Inuyasha, and worse of all, insult her…. There was no way she was going to let him get whatever he was after.

When the darkness vanished from around her, Kagome found herself falling in midair. Crap. This wasn't looking good. It was a _long_ way to the ground.

"Lady Kagome!"

Kagome turned at the sound of her name. "Myoga!?" The little flea was swooping towards her on the back of a huge bony…..uh, bird? Kagome plopped down behind him. "What the heck is this thing Myoga?"

"I'm not sure, but it appears to be some type of bird that resides in the Underworld. They're really quite friendly despite their uh, appearance."

"Wait….did you just say Underworld?"

"This is the Underworld alright…..because there's my old man…." Kagome turned at the sound of Inuyasha's voice. Somehow he had situated himself on the giant skeleton bird without her noticing. Ugh, in fact all of her senses seemed to be clogged. She looked inside herself and was shocked to discover her miko side was glowing much brighter than her hanyou side.

Kagome yanked her eyes open when the skeleton bird suddenly plunged downward. They were heading straight for a _huge_ skeleton.

"And uh, I'm guessing that skeleton is your father?"

"Yup, and that's where we're going because that's were that stupid brother of mine is."

"Well I guess you guys won't be needing me anymore! See you around!" With that Myoga disappeared off the back of the skeleton bird.

"That stupid coward….I don't see why my father even kept him around!"

"He does seem to disappear at the most convenient moments…." Kagome lost interest in the flea as the bird landed and her and Inuyasha jumped down from its back. They sniffed the air, but in the end Inuyasha was the one who confirmed where Sesshomaru was.

"You mean you don't feel like you have a cold?" Kagome asked.

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha gave her a funny look. "I feel completely fine. Now come on! We've got to get inside this thing."

Kagome shook her head. Ok, something weird was happening….but only to her. Kagome looked up at the huge dog skeleton. Inuyasha was already halfway up. She took a deep breath and began to leap after him.

* * *

Inuyasha reached the top of the rib cage and looked down into it. His brother was at the bottom of the tunnel the bones formed. Inuyasha jumped down and landed with a crunch at the bottom. The floor was covered in bones.

Inuyasha straightened and watched as Sesshomaru approached a rusty old sword that was embedded in a slab of stone. "So that stupid old thing is what you've been searching for this whole time" Inuyasha smirked at his older brother.

"Allow me to demonstrate its power for you then" Sesshomaru turned and grabbed the hilt of the sword. Immediately his hand started to smoke and sparks began to fly. Sesshomaru released it with a frown. "It won't allow me to touch it. Its just like father to put some kind of spell on it." Sesshomaru sighed, and turned to face his brother. "I'll just have to kill you with my claws then."

Inuyasha leapt out of the way, barely avoiding claws that were dripping with poison. He watched as the poison made contact with some skulls; they melted into a messy lump and dripped to the ground. Sesshomaru turned with a smirk. "Why are you running little brother?"

Inuyasha leapt up as Sesshomaru attacked again. He flung out one of his own attacks, but Sesshomaru merely dodged it with a bored expression.

"Inuyasha, get the sword! It's the only way you can defeat him!"

Inuyasha jumped at the voice that was blaring in his ear. "Myoga! So you came back did ya?"

"That doesn't matter right now. You need to pull the sword out. Sesshomaru couldn't do it because your father obviously intended it to belong to you! Hurry!"

Inuyasha smirked as he dodged another attack. He sprinted over to the rock with the rusted sword stuck in it.

"I'm only doing this just to see your face you bastard. I don't see why this stupid old sword is that important anyways." Inuyasha made sure Sesshomaru was watching before firmly grasping the hilt of the sword. He looked down and pulled….

…..and pulled

…..and pulled.

The air crackled around him, but he couldn't feel the stupid thing even budge.

"I can't pull it out can I?" Inuyasha gritted out. Myoga shrunk.

"Heh heh, it looks like my theory was wrong. Well, I'll be seeing you around!" Myoga leapt off Inuyasha shoulder and vanished….again.

"Myoga! Come back here! I'm not through with you!" Inuyasha released the sword and bounded down after the retreating flea.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and leapt after the unsuspecting Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! Behind you!" Inuyasha turned at the sound of Kagome's voice. He leapt away from his brother just in the nick of time.

Sesshomaru turned his attention towards the cat hanyou who had given him away. "I'll get rid of you first."

* * *

Kagome's eyes widened as Sessoumaru dashed in her direction. She leapt sideways as the dog youkai brought his claws down. She grabbed the nearest object to pull herself up, but it gave way when she pulled on it.

She looked down at what she held in her hands. Oh boy….

"You! How did you pull the sword when neither I nor that half- breed brother of mine could even make it budge?" Sesshomaru didn't waste time on the question though. He swiped his venomous claws down the skulls that were sitting above Kagome. Kagome screamed as the pile of melted bone fell on her.

"That poison should be enough to finish her off." Sesshomaru turned in Inuyasha's direction. "Now it's your turn."

* * *

Inuyasha was pissed. And Sesshomaru noticed.

"Tsk tsk, are you upset because I killed your little pet? Don't worry; I was doing you a favor." Sesshomaru smirked as he began to stalk Inuyasha. He could tell his younger brother was close to losing control.

There was no way Inuyasha was about to go down without a fight. He snarled and leapt for his brother, intent on ripping his throat out. But both men froze when an enraged voice echoed through the chamber.

"You little bastard….you actually tried to kill me!!"

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru watched as Kagome stood out of the gloppy mess she was in.

"Well what do ya know? Maybe cats really do have nine lives. You worried me there for a second, ya stupid cat."

"The spell on the sword must have protected her from my poison." Sesshomaru mused.

"Either way I'm alive, and I'm pissed." Kagome shook the sword. "Now what is this piece of crap supposed to do, 'cause I'm about to kick your ass with it."

Both brothers watched the cat hanyou and the sword closely, curious to see if it responded to her.

"I don't have time for this" Sesshomaru vaulted towards Kagome. She looked around frantically before calling out to Inuyasha.

"Here! See if you can make it work!" She tossed the sword to him before flipping away from Sesshomaru. She risked flinging her claws out at him in a clumsy attack.

Inuyasha watched the two for a second before focusing on the sword in his hands. Far as he could see it was just a piece of scrap metal. Why the hell would Sesshomaru want this crappy banged- up sword so bad?

"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha looked up at Kagome's frightened voice. She was pointing at Sesshomaru who was standing in the middle of the chamber. His eyes were blood red, and he was smirking at Inuyasha.

"Yes, brother. Let's see if you can get that thing to work."

Uh oh. Inuyasha could already see what his brother's intentions were. "Hey wench! We need to get out of here _now_! Follow me!" He began hopping from rib bone to rib bone, slowly making his way to the top. He could hear Kagome just behind him.

* * *

Kagome could smell the change before it happened. They'd barely reached the top of the skeleton before Sesshomaru came busting out just behind them. Kagome could feel every hair on her body standing up as she looked at the huge dog youkai that stood before them.

Sesshomaru wasn't as big as his father when he was in his true youkai form…. But he sure was close.

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, who stood with the old sword held in front of him and had a determined look set on his face.

Right.

So they were going to fight this monster….this, this….._dog_. Kagome narrowed her eyes. Fine with her…she hated dogs.

"Listen, you stay here while I fight him off."

Kagome snapped her head around towards Inuyasha.

"No way! I'm fighting too! He tried to kill me!"

"And he'll do it again ya stupid cat!"

"So what do you care if I live or die?"

Kagome watched Inuyasha streak off. She had the sneaking suspicion that he was avoiding the question. She flexed her claws before springing after him. Kagome landed on the opposite leg as Inuyasha and began to scratch furiously at Sesshomaru, who in turn flung her off. Inuyasha got the same treatment.

Inuyasha managed to turn himself in the air and land neatly beside her. She lifted her head from the pile of rubble she was laying in. She could feel a growl forming in her throat. Inuyasha leapt again before her, and she watched as he hacked at Sesshomaru's face with the dull blade.

There had to be some secret as to how to make that thing work.

Kagome leapt onto Sesshomaru's head and took a chomp at his ear. In seconds she was back on the ground again. This time she had been thrown into some rocks, and she wasn't recovering as quickly. She stood up shakily as Inuyasha skidded next to her.

"I told you not to fight! Why won't you listen ya damn cat!"

Kagome held her chin up. "I can fight! Leave me alone!"

Inuyasha growled. "Just let me protect you Kagome!"

Kagome froze.

"Y- you just said my name…"

"Yeah what of it? It doesn't mean anything…" Inuyasha looked back to Sesshomaru.

"B- but…. You've never used my name!" Kagome sat on her pile of rubble and gasped as she experienced another shock. Something was happening to Inuyasha's sword.

* * *

Inuyasha froze as he felt the sword in his hand pulse. Something was about to happen, he could feel it.

Suddenly the sword flashed causing him to close his eyes. He opened them when he heard Kagome's gasp. The sword had transformed. It was now a _huge_ slab of metal that looked like it could cause some serious damage. And that's exactly what he intended to do.

He smirked before jumping onto Sesshomaru's leg. He yelled as he swept the blade down, causing it to go all the way through. The powerful youkai screamed in rage and pain, before falling backward. When his leg had been severed he had become off balance. Inuyasha watched coldly as his brother fell off the huge tower they had been battling on. He vanished from view as he fell beneath a thick mist that seemed to have gathered around the battleground.

Inuyasha looked at the blade he held in his hand. The sword was gleaming bright red from his brother's blood. Inuyasha began to wipe it off, but stopped when he felt the sword shrink. He lifted it up and was surprised to see that it had returned to the old rusty thing it had originally been.

"Show off"

He looked over to Kagome who stood with her hands crossed over her chest. He watched as her lips twitched, trying to hold back a smile. "You just wait", she continued,"one of these days_ I'm _going to save _your_ butt."

Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah right, ya stupid cat."

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him.

He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

* * *

The moment was broken with the arrival of Myoga. He was riding a skeleton bird and soon the three of them were flying back to the portal.

"I see you managed to disappear when there was the slightest sense of danger again old man." Myoga turned nervously.

"W-what! I was busy trying to find a bird for us to fly back on! You see I knew you guys would manage to escape perfectly fine on your own. Why would you need a poor old flea like me?"

Kagome giggled at Myoga's excuse. He'd probably been working on that one for a while.

"Say Myoga. You seemed to know an awful lot about that sword. Can you tell us about it?" Kagome cocked her head in the direction of Inuyasha and the sword. She moved a strand of hair that blew in her face as the bird began to ascend higher into the air.

She could tell Inuyasha was trying to act uninterested. She smiled at his expression. His eye was still swollen shut from earlier, but it had stopped bleeding.

"I'll have to tell you when we get back. Get ready to jump."

Kagome looked above and was glad to see the portal was still open. The bird made the final ascent, before stopping to hover next to it. Kagome watched with bated breath as Myoga hopped into the black hole. She looked back at Inuyasha before turning back to the portal. She bunched her muscles and jumped.

* * *

Inuyasha collided with Kagome as he shot through the portal. She landed face first, with him on top of her. She growled and pushed him off to the side.

"Ow! Watch it wench!"

Kagome huffed as she stood up. "You're the one who ran into _me_!"

"Feh, it's not like I meant too. Given a choice, I would definitely have rather landed on the ground."

"Humph" Kagome crossed her arms and turned away. "Hey look!" Inuyasha looked in the direction her finger was pointing. The portal was closing up. He watched as it became a small black pearl again. It dropped to the ground and Inuyasha crawled over to it.

He finally managed to pick the small object up between his claws. He shrugged before holding it up to his eye. He was amazed when a pleasurable feeling washed through his body. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. His eye was completely healed. As were the rest of his wounds.

Hmm.

Inuyasha looked over to where the sword lay next to Kagome's foot. He stood up and went to retrieve it. He glanced at Kagome as he bent to get the sword. He did a double take.

"Jeesh, what is it now?"

"Eeyew! Did that thing just go back into your _eye_?"

"Yeah, isn't that where it belongs?...stupid cat."

Kagome shuddered before walking away.

Inuyasha picked up the sword and began following her back through the woods. The portal had spit them back out in the clearing they had originally been in. That meant Kaede's hut (and dinner) weren't to far away.

Inuyasha blinked as he realized that the sun had gone down, and from the temperature it had been down for a while. What time was it anyways?

He quickened his pace; he could barely make out the outline of Kagome up ahead. Her black outfit did a good job of blending her in with the darkness surrounding her.

He didn't slow down until he was right behind her.

* * *

Kagome nearly took off running when she finally spotted the glow of Kaede's hut. She'd noticed how dark it had gotten since they had been gone. She was guessing it was around midnight.

When she finally burst through the door, she was surprised to find Myoga already sitting on a mat speaking with Kaede.

They looked up when she opened the door.

"Thank the Gods; you're not hurt are you?"

Kagome grinned down at Kaede as her stomach let out a loud growl.

"I should have known….", Kaede sighed with a smile.

"Move it ya damn cat!" Kagome moved out of the doorway as a grumpy Inuyasha stomped past her.

"Kaede I hope you have an extra bowl of stew, Inuyasha doesn't eat breakfast you know…..he's probably starving…." Kagome said brightly.

"Feh! I'm not hungry. Mind your own damn business, cat."

Kaede just continued to smile and handed them each a bowl of stew.

Inuyasha immediately sat down and began to inhale his food.

Kagome plopped down next to him.

"Thought ya weren't hungry…" She peered into his halfway empty bowl.

"Shut up."

Kagome just grinned and began to chow down.

* * *

When the two hanyou had finally had their fill of stew and a long swig of water, they finally quit their bickering.

Kagome could feel her eyelids beginning to droop. She was finally starting to feel tired. She began to scoot towards her mat, but stopped and hissed in pain. She had a major cut on the back of her thigh. She blushed as she realized how high up it was.

Kaede looked at her in concern, and reached for her medical bag. Kagome tried to tell her with her eyes that she needed a private session. Kaede nodded her head in understanding and walked over to help her stand. They made their way out the door and around to the back of the hut before Kaede ordered Kagome to take her pants off.

Kagome grunted in pain before finally getting the tight fabric off. She rolled over on her stomach. The cool grass felt good.

"How bad is it?"

"Bad…it looks like Inuyasha's brother managed to swipe you with his poisonous claws. It's already turning green around the wound."

Kagome thought back to the fight. She didn't remember Sesshomaru getting a scratch on her, especially on _that_ area of her body. She must have fallen and scraped herself, and then when the melted heap of bones fell on her the poison got into her wound. Kagome gasped as Kaede put some kind of poultice on her festering wound. It stung _really_ badly.

"Kaede, I'm not going to die am I?"

"Not unless the poison spreads. We need to be careful and check it in the morning, ok?"

"I thought a hanyou's body could heal quicker than a human body. Shouldn't this be healing already?"

"Sesshomaru's poison is strong; it can even kill a full blooded youkai if it is allowed to spread."

Gulp.

"It's not spreading is it?"

"No, I've managed to stop it for now. But like I said, we need to reapply this poultice in the morning. Don't let me forget."

Kagome winced as she sat up. Kaede had tied a clean bandage around the cut.

"I'm sure I won't."

The two hobbled back into the hut, and Kagome shakily lay down on her mat. She wanted to hear Myoga's explanation for everything that had happened today, but she was just too tired to do anything else but sleep.

Kagome finally surrendered to the darkness that had been hovering on the edge of her vision.

* * *

"What's wrong with the cat?"

Inuyasha gestured in the sleeping girl's direction. Kaede sighed and sat down.

"She's been poisoned, and it looks bad. I told her that I'd managed to stop the poison from spreading, but I've really only slowed it down."

Inuyasha growled. He could smell the poison in her. He was surprised he hadn't noticed earlier. He looked at Myoga.

"Couldn't the flea suck the poison out, or somethin'?"

"This poison is so strong that it would only succeed in killing Myoga once it's out of Kagome."

"Oh good! Then we'll all be happy!"

Myoga sent Inuyasha a dark glare.

Kaede continued to stare at the sleeping cat hanyou. There was only one known cure for the poison. And that was another poison that was just as strong as the one that was already in her. The two poisons would cancel each other out. Kaede knew that there was a toxic berry called Fatal Blood that grew in the Mountains of Intrigue. It was named after the poison that resided in it and its red color. If they were going to save Kagome they were going to need at least a handful of those things.

"Inuyasha…do you want to save the girl?"

Inuyasha snapped his focus away from Myoga and back to the serious situation in front of him.

"Of course I want to save her! She's the only way I'm going to find the Jewel."

Kaede nodded gravely. "I need you to find a poisonous berry called Fatal Blood. Only the poison of that berry is strong enough to counter the poison your brother managed to get in her."

"What's the catch?"

"The berries are located in the Mountains of Intrigue and I'm guessing we have about three full days before she's dead."

"What! It'll take me at least two days to get there, plus another day to find the berries, plus another two days to travel back!"

"You're going to have to find a way to get to the Mountains in one day. I can tell you that the berries are located at the base of the tallest mountain. They grow on little bushes close to the ground. Look for small animals, such as rabbits, that are dead. That means the berries are near because the stupid animal ate them and died."

"So I've got to get there in one day, find the berries in one day, then get back here on the third day?"

"Before sundown."

"Why?"

"By sundown on the third day I'm afraid she'll be beyond help."

Inuyasha looked down into his lap. "What are you going to tell her when I'm gone? She'll want to know where I've disappeared to."

"She won't even remember you by morning."

Inuyasha's eyes widened and he looked at Kagome's sleeping form. He could hear her breathing becoming ragged, and he could already smell the sickness rolling off of her.

Stupid cat. She better not die on him.

Inuyasha crawled over to his corner and propped himself against the wall. Kaede had already lain down on her mat, and Myoga was nowhere to be seen. Inuyasha closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure whether or not he liked the thought of Kagome forgetting him. Damn it all, he was just starting to get used to her. He wasn't ready for her to die yet!

Kagome moaned in her sleep and Inuyasha's ears flicked towards her in concern. How was he going to find a way to the Mountains in one day? He was going to have to run all day and night. And what about food?

This cat owed him big time.

Inuyasha forced himself to go to sleep. He was planning on leaving bright and early. He was only going to get about five hours of sleep; dawn was already only about three hours away.

He knew he was making excuses. He really wanted to leave before Kagome woke up. He didn't want to see her like this: helpless and dazed with sickness and pain.

But he knew firsthand that she was stubborn….there was no way in hell she would let that poison take her down without a fight.

Inuyasha turned away from sleeping Kagome before falling into a restless slumber.

* * *

And so the plot thickens…..

Will Inuyasha manage to save Kagome?

Chapter 8 is in progress……stayed tuned!

Read –N- Review!

:)

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	10. The Race Against Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters…….I only own the plot of my story.

Sorry for the delay everybody…..I've been busy with school starting and all…..and I've been rereading the Twilight Series because (if you're a Twilight fan you know how big this is) the newest book just came out! Squee! But seriously….I'm trying to stay focused on writing (and finishing) this story… :)

Read –N- Review Please!

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Chapter 10

Inuyasha woke with a start. He could smell Kagome's fever spike. It was about an hour past dawn. He looked to Kaede who was sitting next to Kagome with a wet rag.

Their eyes made contact and an unspoken message passed between them. Inuyasha nodded his head and stood up.

"I've made you a food pack. It's by the door." Kaede nodded her head in the direction of the little satchel of food.

Inuyasha nodded his head again, this time in thanks. He silently picked up his sword as he walked to the door and bent to pick up the 'food pack'.

"Remember Inuyasha….three days."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome's sleeping form and dipped his head, so that his bangs covered his eyes.

"I'll be back."

He turned and dashed out the door.

* * *

Inuyasha had been running for 10 hours straight. It was just past noon and he was beginning to get hungry. But he was determined to make it to the next town before he allowed himself to stop and eat.

He jumped to another tree, and continued onward. He chose not to run on the roads. He was in a hurry and he didn't have time to deal with humans. He was running through the trees that lined the roads. It wasn't quite as fast but it was a lot more fun.

As he crested a hill he spotted a little town just down the road. He could see the Mountains rising up in the background. He was making good time. He might reach the Mountains just after sundown if he kept going at this pace.

He settled into a tree just outside of the little town. He sniffed the air just to be safe. He thought he could smell a hint of fox youkai, but it was faint. They were probably miles away. Besides he wouldn't be here for long. Inuyasha pulled the small pack of food out of his sleeve. He unrolled one of the little bundles and was happy to see five little rice balls neatly packed together.

He began to devour the food, savoring every bite.

* * *

Kagome was lost. She was in a small clearing with lush green grass and bright flowers blooming everywhere. She could hear a little creek tinkling through the small meadow.

It was peaceful here…….but she was lost. She needed to get back to..to…to…..

She racked her brain. There was somebody she needed to get back to…..because she was supposed to go on a mission with them….to find….the…. Jewel!

Kagome looked around. That was weird. All the way around the outside of the clearing there was a wall of mist.

Ugh….if only she could clear her mind. It felt like her head was stuffed full of cotton balls. Maybe some cold water would help. Kagome perked an ear, trying to pin-point the exact location of the running water. She stood up and walked over to the little creek. She found a deep spot and plunged her hands in the cool water. She splashed the water onto her face.

She was reaching down for another handful when she noticed it. The water had calmed enough so that she could see her reflection. It was her…..but it _wasn't_ her at the same time.

She could tell she was in her hanyou form. She saw her black cat ears, she saw her brown eyes, she saw the same black hair…..but in the reflection it looked like it was cut different. The bangs were shorter, and the hair longer. After studying the reflection for a while, she decided the person in the reflection _wasn't_ her.

"Hello Kagome."

And now the reflection was talking to her. Boy this was getting stranger and stranger by the second…..

"Um, hello…..reflection?"

"Have you figured out who I am yet?"

"You're me….only you're not me….and I must be going completely crazy because I'm talking to my reflection." Her reflection began to move. "Wait, how are you moving if I'm not?"

"Because I'm not you"

"Ok, I am now thoroughly confused….if you're not me, then who are you? And why are you in my reflection?"

"I am Kikyo, and I am you."

"No, no, no ….just a second ago you said you weren't me…wait, did you just say your name is Kikyo? Like _the _Kikyo?"

The Kikyo in her reflection sighed. "Get comfortable, and I'll explain it to you…..you're going to be here for a while anyways."

* * *

Inuyasha could tell he was being followed. It was probably one of those fox youkai. He had just passed by what smelled like a group of them.

It was getting close to sunset, and the Mountains were still a good 30 miles away. He didn't need a distraction right now, but whoever was following him was refusing to leave, and it was starting to get on his nerves. He could tell his pursuer wasn't very experienced. They were making enough noise to alert even a human that he was being followed.

Inuyasha decided it was time to ditch his stalker. He spotted a shallow stream under the trees and jumped into it. He hoped it would cause the person following him to lose his scent. He began wading upstream.

After about 20 minutes of walking in the water, Inuyasha decided that he was safe. He couldn't hear or smell anyone following him. He hopped out of the water, and back into the trees. The sun was nearly behind the Mountains at this point. Inuyasha climbed to the top of the tree he was in. He looked at the huge Mountain range that was framed by the dying sunlight. He ran his eyes along the range, looking for the tallest mountain. When he found it he was surprised at how he could have missed it in the first place. He sat there and enjoyed the view for a few seconds. The mountain was outlined in red and gold, the sun was setting directly behind it.

He closed his eyes and remembered another sunset from about fifty years ago. He snapped his eyes open, angry with himself for thinking about her. He jumped down into the lower branches of the tree, and continued towards the mountain. He needed absolutely _no_ distractions.

He had a long way to go.

* * *

Kagome arranged herself neatly on the soft grass. She curled her tail around her body, and then waited patiently for Kikyo to begin with her explanation.

"Yes, my name is Kikyo, and yes I am _the_ Kikyo. I was the Guardian of the Hanyou Jewel fifty years ago until I was killed."

"Wait, who killed you?" Kagome had a feeling she needed to know who this person was that killed Kikyo.

"Inuyasha"

Kagome raised a hand to her chin. "Inuyasha", she mumbled. It sounded familiar, but she just couldn't place him. Maybe she would remember him after Kikyo told her story.

"Inuyasha is an evil hanyou, and he needs to be killed. He's greedy, and he only wants to get his hands on the Jewel so he can use it for his own selfish intentions." The beautiful face in the water twisted in rage. Kikyo's fangs were bared and her ears were plastered to her head.

For some reason Kagome didn't like the way Kikyo was talking about this Inuyasha guy. "So can you explain why _you_ are in _my_ reflection?"

Kikyo's features smoothed over again, and she was once more cold and expressionless.

"You and I share the same soul. But you are you and I am me because we have different personalities. It's what makes you Kagome and me Kikyo, but at the same time allows Kikyo and Kagome to be one and the same."

"Ooookaaay….but does this mean you are like _inside_ of me? Because you're like part of my soul?"

Kikyo nodded. "It also means that I can take over your body, especially when you are weak, like now."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine…."

"No Kagome, you are very sick. You have been poisoned, and the Kagome part of our soul is getting weaker and weaker. If you die so does the body. That is why when you get too weak I'm going to take over the body, and then we'll do things _my _way."

Kagome didn't like the sound of this. The way Kikyo was talking made it sound like she didn't care what happened to _Kagome_ just as long as the body didn't die.

"I'm not going to let you take over _my _body, Kikyo. So you can go ahead and mark that off of your 'To Do' list."

"Soon you'll be too weak to stop me." Kikyo gave a malicious smile.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that…." Kagome crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. No freakin' way was she letting a dead girl take over her body. Kagome still had a couple of questions to ask though….

But wait…everything was starting to disappear…. "Kikyo! What's happening?" Kagome could barely make out the whisper of Kikyo's voice as the clearing disappeared.

"You'll be back…."

* * *

Kagome's eyes slowly began to focus. She was in a room, and she was absolutely burning up. She felt something cool press against her forehead and looked up into the face of an old woman. She took her time staring at the eye-patch that was covering an eye of the lady. Kagome moaned, it felt like her whole body was being burned from the inside out.

"Kikyo? Where am I?"

The old woman shhh-ed her gently and Kagome felt her wipe her soggy bangs off her sweaty forehead.

"It's okay child. Just close your eyes and try to go to sleep. Inuyasha will be back soon with the antidote."

Antidote? Kagome figured she must be sick. As if to confirm her theory, Kagome felt a wave of pain flush through her body.

Kagome watched as the strange old lady blinked in and out of her vision before disappearing completely.

* * *

Kaede watched as Kagome slipped back into unconsciousness. The poison was definitely taking effect. Kagome obviously had no idea where she was.

And then there was the teensy problem that she had called out for Kikyo who had been dead for over fifty years.

Kaede knew it was a bad sign if her sister was somehow involved.

She turned and looked out the window. The sun was starting to set. If Inuyasha had been running all day he was probably getting close to reaching the Mountains.

Kaede looked back towards the unconscious cat hanyou. She hoped to whatever gods there were that Inuyasha met no distractions.

* * *

Damn! So much for no distractions.

Inuyasha cursed his luck as he tried to lose the sounds of his persistent pursuer. How the little pest had picked up on his trail again was a mystery to him….maybe this person was better than he thought. Inuyasha gritted his teeth in annoyance and continued onwards. He was nearly at the base of the tallest Mountain and he was determined to get there before dealing with whoever was after him.

By now the sky had darkened, and little lightening bugs had begun winking in out of the trees. A half moon shed a little light through the branches, but not enough to reveal where Inuyasha was. He was just a black shadow that appeared red every few seconds when a beam caught him. His ears flicked behind him as he changed his course slightly. He was no longer following a human road; with the Mountain in sight it was unneeded.

He began to slow his pace as the sounds of his stalker ceased. He came to a stop on a thick branch in a high tree. He gave the air a quick sniff just to be sure he was really alone. He plopped down wearily, feeling the effects of the day finally take toll on him. He quickly reached into his sleeve and pulled out his meager food supply. He was too tired to hunt, so another rice ball or two would have to do for tonight.

He was careful to stay alert, even as his eyes started to droop. He had a feeling his stalker friend was somewhere nearby. But even though he was strong enough to run for a whole day straight, Inuyasha wasn't strong enough to hold off the heaviness of his own eyes.

He was asleep in seconds.

* * *

Kagome groaned.

She was back in the meadow. She immediately marched over to the stream that was still bubbling peacefully.

For some inexplicable reason, Kagome was mad. She had a feeling that she should have known who that old woman had been. She peered into the water, a scowl on her face.

Kikyo stared back at her.

"Well that didn't take long now did it?"

Kagome glared. "Why can't I remember anything clearly? I should have known who that old woman was…. Am I truly _that_ sick?"

Kikyo smirked. "You bet. And you're getting weaker by the second. In less than 48 hours I'll be able to take control."

Kagome bared her teeth in a snarl.

"And exactly what happens to _me_ if you're in control?"

"You get stuck here, of course."

Kagome turned from the stream and stomped to a clump of green grass. She sat down and tried to get her breathing under control.

_I've only got 48 hours to figure out how to get better….or better yet out of this stupid meadow. If I had been smart I would have asked Kikyo if I could even get out in the first place….._

Kagome frowned as she sat upon her hillock of grass.

_What if I get stuck in here for ever? I'll never make it back home….Mom, Souta, Grandpa….._

Angry tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill down her face.

_No, I'll make it out of here if it's the last thing I do…_

She reached to her wipe the tears her traitor tear ducts had let loose, and her face hardened.

She'd heard once that a cat's worst enemy was a closed door….and she'd be damned before she let Kikyo close her in her _own_ body.

* * *

Inuyasha watched from below his lashes intently as a small, dark shape made its way to the bottom of the tree he was currently pretending to be asleep in. Up until a few minutes ago he truly had been asleep. He'd been rudely awakened by the strong scent of a youkai, and knew right away that it was his little friend from earlier.

The ironic thing was that his little friend was actually………_little. _

Inuyasha felt his body tense as the small shadow began to climb up the tree. He could already tell what kind of youkai it was…….but he found he was curious to know why the small demon had followed him all the way to this mountain. Inuyasha knew he would be the stronger opponent in battle, so obviously the little shadow did not intend to fight him….

He must be after something.

Inuyasha carefully clutched his precious new sword to his chest, and watched as the shadow silently crawled out of his vision to a branch somewhere above him. He could hear as the demon made his way to the end of the branch that was above him. The figure of the little youkai suddenly filled the limited vision that Inuyasha had. Inuyasha focused on making his breathing sound slow and his body posture to look relaxed, even though he was about as tense as a rock.

Inuyasha swallowed a growl as he felt a little hand creep into his sleeve and begin searching around. Why would the little youkai be searching his sleeve, all that was in there was a small bundle of….

Of course!

The food!

The little youkai was trying to steal his food…..

Inuyasha drew in a particularly deep breath, and now that he thought about it he could smell hunger practically rolling off the small demon in weak waves. The poor guy must be really desperate if he had been willing to follow Inuyasha all day just to get some food.

Inuyasha opened his eyes when he felt the small bundle being pulled from his sleeve. He watched as a large pair opposite of him widened in surprise. In seconds the little youkai was gone, jumping down from the tree branch and disappearing into the dark shadows of the bushes.

Inuyasha didn't have the heart to go after him. From the short glimpse he had managed to get, Inuyasha could tell that his stalker was nothing more than a kitsune. From his smell he was a small fox kitsune. Something must have happened to his family…..

Inuyasha thought back to when he had passed that small area that had smelled of fox youkai. He thought he could recall smelling sickness and….maybe….blood? Now that he gave himself the time to think about it he did think that maybe something was off about the way that place smelled.

He continued to stare into the spot where the small kitsune had disappeared and thought about death. These thoughts promptly lead his mind to a certain cat hanyou who was probably, at that moment, writhing in pain.

Inuyasha leaned his head back against the cool bark of the tree and closed his eyes. He immediately regretted this action as pictures of a sick and delirious Kagome played behind his eyelids. His eyes shot open. So much for sleep…..

* * *

Inuyasha was up and running a few hours after sunrise. He guessed that he had gotten about 4 hours of sleep last night. Even with his body as exhausted as it was, his mind wouldn't allow him to sleep. He probably wouldn't get a proper night's rest until Kagome had been fed the antidote.

He sniffed the air, hoping to get a whiff of the poisonous berries. He crouched on the ground and began to search all of the low bushes quickly as possible. The less time this took the better.

At one point in the day Inuyasha thought he caught a strong scent of the fox kitsune, nearby. He ignored it and continued his search.

By noon Inuyasha had grown frustrated. He hadn't even seen so much as a dead animal yet. Were these damn berries _trying_ to make him mad? He grumbled and continued to search.

When the sun began to setting, Inuyasha was all but ready to kill someone. He had searched all day and had found absolutely nothing.

He dropped to the ground and sat in an untidy heap. He was exhausted, not to mention starving. He hadn't eaten anything all day, and he felt like he had absolutely no energy left in his body. He watched as the sun continued to sink behind the Mountains. Despair was starting to sink into his body. At this rate Kagome would be dead in less than 48 hours…..

Inuyasha's head yanked up as his senses were flooded by the stench of a youkai. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself off the ground. The last thing he needed was a fight.

He leapt into a nearby tree, and began moving away from the demon that seemed to be moving closer.

He had been moving through the trees for about 10 minutes, when he saw it. It was a dead animal. Or at least it looked dead….it smelled very much alive…..

…and familiar.

Inuyasha paused in his running away. This was the little kitsune from the night before. He could only see the small demon's little red fox tail sticking out of the bushes. Something was wrong with the little kit's scent though. It was even sicker than it had been the night before.

Inuyasha could hear the larger youkai that he had been in the process of running away from draw near. He waited up in the tree. Surely the little fox would move when he caught the scent…..

The fox tail didn't so much as twitch.

Inuyasha watched as a large snake youkai slid into the little clearing. Inuyasha studied the creature for a few seconds. It was a long, green, scaly, demon with enlarged fangs that dripped with poison. Its large yellow eyes were narrowed into dangerous slits. It was only a few seconds before the huge demon snake was moving towards the bush that covered the little fox.

Inuyasha summoned the last of his energy and leapt down into the clearing. He rushed towards the monster, claws raised. The snake was facing him in an instant. It dodged his claws and immediately struck out with its own attack.

In any other fight on any other day, Inuyasha would have been able to dodge the attack. But Inuyasha was only moving on adrenaline now. His movements were weak and sloppy. The snake's teeth sunk into his foot. Inuyasha yelled out in pain and anger. When he felt the teeth of the snake slide out of his skin he immediately reached for his sword. He didn't even realize that he had it out in his hands until the snake was cut into pieces. Inuyasha sank to the ground weakly, and watched as the sword shrank. He grabbed his foot and studied the damage. This youkai's poison wasn't as strong s his brother's, but it was probably something to worry about.

Inuyasha growled and released his throbbing foot. He crawled over to the body of the fox kitsune that was till lying motionless under the bush. He reached for the body and watched as several red berries fell from the bush when his hand struck them.

Oh no…..

He rolled the small youkai over and stared at his face. He prayed his theory was wrong…..

Inuyasha practically fell over when he saw that the small fox's face was calm and peaceful……in sleep. The stupid brat was _asleep_. How could he possibly still be asleep after all that racket? Heck, if he hadn't been there the stupid kid would be sleeping in digestive juices………

Inuyasha growled and clenched his hands into fists.

The little fox twitched his ears at the sound of Inuyasha's growl and opened his bleary eyes. When he saw the angry hanyou glaring at him he immediately scooted far away as he could.

"So you're the little creep who followed me _and_ stole my food _and_ caused me to get poisoned!" Inuyasha looked down to his swollen foot and grimaced. He looked back up at the fox kitsune and waited for his explanation.

"I don't know what you're talking 'bout…." The little fox growled, showing his small pin-point fangs. "I've never seen you, much less stole from you!"

At that precise moment the little cloth that the food had been wrapped in fell out of the little fox's pocket.

Inuyasha smirked. "You were saying?"

"Mind your own business!"

The little fox tried to make his escape.

"Aw, c'mon….I wasn't' going to hurt you ya little twerp."

Inuyasha watched as the little fox fell to the ground, obviously to weak to go much further.

Inuyasha continued. "Are you crazy? Trying to kill yourself aren't you? It's not good to push yourself so hard."

The little fox rolled over to look at Inuyasha. "Heh, why don't you practice what you preach! You're obviously not much better off than I am."

Inuyasha growled. "Listen kid, you're obviously not going to get far, so, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but why don't you stick with me? I'll make sure ya get some food, and I'm sure the old hag and Kagome would love to take care of you…."

Inuyasha's eyes widened. When he had mentioned the cat hanyou it reminded him of his mission: To get the Fatal Blood berries.

"Listen kid, ya need to hurry up and make your decision, 'cause I'm in a hurry."

The little fox youkai was staring at him with a mistrustful expression on his face. Inuyasha turned from him to let him make his decision while he went over to inspect the small red berries that the fox had been sleeping under. The berries seemed to fit the description Kaede had given him, and they smelled dangerous. Inuyasha grabbed the forgotten food cloth and began to fill it with a handful of berries. He was careful not to burst any and he was going to make sure he got his hands washed when he was done with this. The last thing he needed was to be poisoned…..again.

His injured foot gave a painful throb. Inuyasha was still sitting on the ground, and he shifted so his foot was within his view. By now it had turned a scary shade of purple. Inuyasha hoped the poison wasn't that strong. Hopefully by morning he'd be healed.

His stomach growled.

He put the parcel with the precious berries in his sleeve. He turned back to the fox kitsune and was actually surprised to see that he was still sitting there. "So?"

"I'll come…..as long as there's food."

Inuyasha nodded. "By the way kid, what's your name?"

"Shippo."

* * *

Kagome could actually feel herself weakening. Who knew how long she had been stuck in this creepy meadow. A day? Four days? A week? It didn't matter. All she knew was that she probably had less than 24 hours before she was trapped here permanently.

Her scheming hadn't got very far. A while ago, when she had still had the energy, she had tried walking through the wall of mist that lingered around the edges of the small meadow. When she had entered the mist, she walked for about 5 minutes before ending up in the meadow again.

After four attempts, and the same results, she had given up on just walking out of here. What she really needed was for her body to regain consciousness. She had been in control when she was in the waking world.

She sighed. Right now she was lying in the too green grass, breathing softly. She felt like all her energy was being sapped right out of her body, and it was getting harder to stay focused on her goal. To keep her mind working she tried remembering the people she knew in the conscious world. She remembered her mother, and Souta, and her Grandpa. She remembered falling through the well, and coming into a different time period. Then it seemed like her memory went fuzzy after the part where she discovered she had transformed into a hanyou. She felt like she was supposed to remember something important…..

Ugh!

It hurt to think.

All she _really_ felt like doing was going to sleep……

At that moment she wished she could feel a soft breeze or hear summertime bugs humming in the trees. She struggled to sit up. This place was _sooo_ creepy……

Kagome looked down at her legs……

Holy CRAP!

Where in the hell _were_ her legs?!

It was like they had just faded away. She looked closely and saw a faint outline of where her legs were supposed to be.

_Great…._

Could things possibly get any worse?...

* * *

Inuyasha and Shippo had just finished a meal that consisted of raw fish that Inuyasha had managed to catch and a few roots that Shippo had scrounged up. All in all….

…..not the best meal.

But it had done its job and filled their bellies. By now it was dark, and the both of them were sitting in the top of a tree, trying to get comfortable so they could catch some much needed Z's.

Just as Inuyasha's eyes were drifting shut he heard Shippo's soft voice in the dark.

"Inuyasha?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? Are you on a mission?"

Inuyasha opened his eyes. "Yeh. My mission was to find those berries."

"Those poisonous ones? Are you trying to poison someone?"

"Uh, actually, I'm trying to _un-_poison someone with them."

"How're you going to manage that if the berries are poison?"

"Well, the old hag said something about the poisons balancing each other out."

"So….your friend is already poisoned?" Inuyasha could hear the confusion in Shippo's voice.

"Yes, my evil sadistic half brother managed to get some of his poison in her." His voice lowered to a whisper. "If I don't get these berries to her by tomorrow then….."

He left the statement hanging in the air, trying not to think of the ending.

"Didn't you say your friend's name was Kagome? Are you sure she's just a friend? You seemed awfully worried."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in the dark. "No way, no way! That sick cat is just a friend!...No! She's actually more of an acquaintance!" Inuyasha sputtered. "Wouldn't you worry about someone you knew who was sick? It's not like I have to love her to worry…." Inuyasha quieted his rant. Shippo's scent had just shifted. Inuyasha could smell sadness seeping from the little fox.

Uh oh.

Geez. What did he say wrong this time?

"You're right Inuyasha", he whispered "you don't have to love them to worry. It only makes it more painful in the end anyways."

"Hey man, are you okay?" Inuyasha looked up into the darkness and saw the dim shape of Shippo's body.

"Let's just go to sleep, okay Inuyasha? I hate people who ask a million questions."

Inuyasha felt his mouth drop. Who exactly was the one asking all the questions here? He grumbled as he settled into a more comfortable position.

Something bad must have happened to someone that Shippo had loved. Like his family. Inuyasha had a sneaking suspicion that something or some_one_ had killed his family. Poor guy, who knew how long he had been wondering around on his own? Inuyasha knew he wasn't exactly one of the most compassionate guys around, but he truly felt bad for the kid. He knew what it was like to be alone in the world.

* * *

By dawn Inuyasha and Shippo were on the run, fully recovered. Inuyasha had been worried that Shippo might slow him down, but the kid seemed revived and full of energy. He was bouncing through the limbs just below Inuyasha, nothing but a blur of orange.

Inuyasha's foot was much better. Nothing remained but two puncture wounds and a little purple bruise.

So far the boys hadn't encountered anymore youkai...or humans. They were doing good so far.

Inuyasha made sure they kept a wide berth around the area that smelled of fox youkai. The last thing he needed was a sobbing, depressed Shippo.

When they had made it past that little area Inuyasha steered them back on course, and pushed the pace a little faster.

* * *

Kagome sat next to the little stream that ran through the meadow. Somehow she had found enough energy to drift to the edge. She felt weightless. By now all that was left of her was her shoulders and head. She stared down into the water.

"Kikyo! What's happening to me? Why am I like…disappearing?"

"It a sign of how weak you're getting. Soon you'll be nothing more than a reflection."

Kagome closed her eyes. "Is there any way for me to get out of here!" she yelled.

Kagome could practically feel Kikyo's smirk.

"Like I would tell you. How stupid do you think I am?"

* * *

Shippo was starting to lag behind. Inuyasha slowed the pace a little. He knew the kid had to be starving. Inuyasha could feel his own stomach pinching in his waist painfully.

He spotted a river just to the left of the path they were following. A drink didn't sound so bad.

"Oi, Shippo!" He pointed toward the river. "Let's take a drink real quick!"

Shippo nodded and leapt from the tree to the bank of the river.

They both drank deeply for several minutes before sitting back and relaxing for a second.

"How much further is this place Inuyasha?"

"We're close." Inuyasha looked up at the sun. It was starting to make its descent. Their pace had slowed too much. Plus that little detour had added some minutes. They weren't going to make it at this rate. Inuyasha looked at the fox kitsune before standing up. "Let's go, we need to hurry."

Shippo detected the hint of urgency in Inuyasha's voice and hopped to his feet.

"Right. I'm good. Let's go."

* * *

Kagome was officially freaking out.

There was a body forming on the bank of the stream, right next to her.

Her guess was that it was Kikyo's. So far the body was complete from the neck down. All that was left to form was the head.

And all that was left of Kagome _was_ her head.

This was bad.

Really bad.

* * *

Inuyasha reached into his sleeve for the tenth time in one minute. He felt his claw tips brush against the bag and felt the now familiar weight of the berries.

They were getting closer. Only about five more miles and they would be there.

It would probably take them at least fifteen minutes to cover that.

It would probably take the sun ten minutes to be officially set.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth together, and pushed himself to go faster.

They weren't going to make it.

* * *

Kaede stood at the door and watched as the sun continued down towards the horizon.

Inuyasha had precisely ten minutes to make it before Kagome was dead.

The cat hanyou still lay in the same spot she had been in for the last three days. She had never regained consciousness after that one time. Her breathing was barely perceptible and her fever had spiked to a dangerous temperature.

Kaede frowned.

Inuyasha had only seven more minutes.

* * *

Kagome looked up at Kikyo in horror. She was in a fully formed body looking down into the water where Kagome was trapped, nothing more now than a reflection of the girl above.

Kikyo smiled in the creepy way she had before. She flicked an ear, and twitched her tail. She held up a clawed hand and let out a gentle laugh.

She looked back at Kagome.

"Don't worry Kagome; I'll keep the body safe. By the way, thanks for loaning it. I'm eager to see what it can do."

Kagome's ears were flat to her head. She snarled. She couldn't believe this! Kikyo was talking about her body like it was a freakin' car or something!

"This isn't over Kikyo!"

Kikyo smirked and walked away from the water. Kagome's face disappeared.

"Now it is."

* * *

Inuyasha went as fast as he could possibly go. All he had to do was make it through this last stretch of woods and he would be there. All that remained of the sun was a tiny sliver, which barely peaked over the horizon.

His eyes narrowed as he saw the end of the forest. The cabin was just beyond those trees. Shippo was right behind him, a grim look on his young face that matched the atmosphere of the air.

They dashed through the tree line, and up to the small hut. They'd made it!

Kaede was sitting next to Kagome's body; she held her hand out urgently. Inuyasha pulled his precious cargo from the small cloth and quickly gave it to her.

Kaede quickly opened the cat hanyou's mouth and plopped three berries in. She forced the girl to chew and then gave her some water so the berries would be washed down.

Everyone in the room was completely still, waiting for some response from Kagome. Inuyasha held his breath. It had been a full minute and still nothing.

The sun was gone. Maybe they hadn't made it in time……

Suddenly everyone in the room jumped as Kagome sucked in a deep breath and groaned. Her body began to convulse and a faint pink glow surrounded her body. Everyone watched as the glow slowly turned white and the shaking began to cease.

Kagome stopped moaning, and everything was still again.

Kaede, Inuyasha, and Shippo leaned their heads over her face, and watched as her eyes slowly blinked open.

Inuyasha's breath whooshed out.

She was alive.

* * *

Whew! That was another long chapter! The ending was fun to write.

And I know ya'll are going to be mad because I'm leaving you hanging.

Stick around to find out what happens!

Chapter 9 is in progress!

Read-N- Review!

Thanx!

:D

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	11. The Return of Kikyo

Hey everyone....no, this is **_not _**a new chapter. I've done some editing to this story and the chapter I just uploaded is actually Chapter 6 : _The Chance of Going Home_...Sorry! New update will be up soon...

Enjoy :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters…….I only own the plot of my story.

* * *

Chapter 11

Inuyasha quickly put his hand under Kagome as she struggled to sit up, gently pressing a couple of pillows behind her back to support her.

"Welcome back, ya stupid cat. Thought we'd lost you for a second…," he paused, "How do you feel?"

Kagome smacked her mouth as though tasting something foul.

"Tastes like I've been eating rotten meat….,"she croaked.

"Are the berries really that bad?"

Kagome looked over to Kaede and cocked her head in confusion…. "Berries?"

"The Fatal Blood berries are what saved you…and you just ate about 3 of them. Congratulations on being the first person to live long enough to experience the after- taste… "

Kagome smiled wryly. "Yeah, thanks."

Kaede stood up and walked over to the little pot that was placed over the fire, stirring the contents inside and causing Inuyasha to sniff appreciatively.

He was starved.

"Food's ready," she announced.

He flashed a small grin at Kagome before abandoning her in favor of a bowl of stew.

--~~--

Kikyo studied Inuyasha as he stood up and walked toward the wonderful smelling food, leaving her behind.

_So far, so good….he doesn't even realize Kagome's gone…. Stupid dog, can't even smell the difference in our scents…._

Speaking of scents…

Kikyo watched as a little fox demon ran up and snatched the hot bowl of stew Kaede was holding out to Inuyasha.

He smelled unfamiliar; even Kagome seemed to have no memory of the scent the small demon was giving off.

_I'd appreciate it if you didn't probe through my memories…isn't it enough that you've taken my body? _

Kikyo's eyes widened.

_What? How are you still able to communicate with me?_

_Beats me…._

Kikyo snarled mentally, a bit bothered by the fact that Kagome was still strong enough to make her thoughts known. This was going to be a problem…not to mention extremely annoying.

"Here Kagome"

Kikyo's eyes came back into focus as she responded to the girl's name and took a bowl of stew from Kaede.

"Thanks."

She sniffed the stew carefully, letting her nose explore the different scents of the spices and herbs wafting out of the bowl. It had been so long since she'd smelled anything real, much less tasted anything. This bite of food would be the first bite in 50 years.

_Hurry up and take the bite ….I'm starving here and you're just staring at it…._

The loaded spoonful dropped back down to the bowl, and Kikyo could feel her eyes widen.

_You mean to say you can actually feel the hunger? How is this possible!? You shouldn't be able to talk or feel anything!_

_Does it really matter? I'm stuck in here until you let me out, and right now I'm hungry, so let's eat…._

"Kagome? Is something the matter?"

Kikyo focused back on the voice that was _outside_ her head, and quickly tried to gain some sort of composure. "Oh I'm fine…just a little thirsty."

Kaede stood up and grabbed a small flask that was hanging by the door. "Well then you should have said something sooner…" She gently sat the water container next to Kikyo then went back to her seat by the fire next to the fox kitsune.

Kikyo looked back down to her bowl of stew and stuck her spoon in, this time not letting anything deter her from eating it. Kikyo closed her eyes and savored the explosion of taste in her mouth before swallowing the food down. Mmm…

_Geez, that's a bit hot! Can't you at least blow on it a bit before you shove it down our throat!_

_Do you want me to eat or not?! Make up your mind! _

_I would if I could…kinda hard when someone is controlling it…_

_Hmm, you're right….so stay quiet and keep your opinion to yourself!_

Kikyo's brows came together in a scowl. This stupid girl was going to blow her cover if she wasn't careful; she was seriously resisting the urge to yell out loud.

Thankfully Kagome kept quiet for the rest of the meal, and Kikyo devoured the bowl of stew in record time, nodding her head when Kaede offered a second helping.

After polishing off the second bowl of stew, Kikyo pulled herself into a squatting position as she struggled to stand up.

"Here, let me help."

She held in a gasp as Inuyasha put his hands under her arms and lifted her onto her feet in an unusually gentle manner.

Kikyo tried to shrug away from him, but Inuyasha grabbed her arm and looped it over his shoulder so he was supporting her.

"Um…thanks…but I was going to the bathroom…"

He shrugged. "I'll walk you out there; you're not in any condition to be hobbling around…"

--~~--

With her arm around his shoulder, and her body pressed against his for balance, Inuyasha couldn't help but smell her. Her ebony hair was just inches below his nose, and every time he breathed, her ear twitched slightly.

But…her smell was off.

He couldn't exactly explain the difference…it's like she smelled like Kagome, but didn't at the same time. Maybe it was just the poison and sickness that was causing her scent to shift.

When they reached the little outhouse that was behind Kaede's hut, he let her arm slip from around his neck so she could get through the small doorway and into the small room.

She silently nodded her head in thanks and turned away from him, avoiding his eyes.

Deciding she was probably just embarrassed, Inuyasha let it slide, and crept off quietly to wait in a nearby tree.

--~~--

Kikyo relieved her body of its wastes, and then stood quietly in the outhouse, fuming.

She couldn't believe she had allowed him help her! It pissed her off to know she had relied on him, even if it was for just a second.

_Wow…you're pretty upset…_

_Oh shut up….I don't need your commentary right now…it's none of your business…_

_Were you in love with Inuyasha before you died?_

_I said shut up! _

Kikyo focused on pushing Kagome to the back of her mind, trying to form a wall to block her off. What the girl had said was causing her emotions to rise strangely in a mixture of hate and sadness.

Yes, Kikyo admitted to herself, at one point she had indeed been in love with Inuyasha….but that was before he'd tried to kill her….before she saw what kind of person he _really_ was…

She calmed her raging emotions before quietly stepping out of the outhouse, determined to walk back on her own. She hissed in pain as she released the side of the little building, forcing all her balance to shift on her injured leg and causing a shock of pain to shoot up it.

She stood still for a moment, letting the pain dull, before attempting to walk again. Kikyo bit her lip as wave after wave of pain washed through her with each step she took.

She was halfway back to the hut when Inuyasha joined her….

--~~--

When he heard her hiss of pain, he jumped out of the tree without even thinking.

Inuyasha rushed to the outhouse only to find Kagome about halfway back to the hut, head bowed in pain and shoulders slumped. He closed the distance between them and quickly grabbed onto her arm to support her, annoyed that she hadn't called for someone to help.

He tightened his grip as she tried to push him away. "Don't be stupid, you obviously need help…"

"I...do not!" she grunted in an effort to push him away.

"Just shut up and let me help you!"

"No! Stop it, I'm fine!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Are _not!"_

"Am _too!"_

"Why are you being so damn stubborn about this!"

She yanked her arm away, "Why do you care?! Just let me walk to the freakin' house!"

Inuyasha backed away from her, hands crossed over his chest. "Keh….when you fall I'm going to laugh…"

"Go ahead…I don't give a damn what you do…"

Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Sure Kagome was a little hot headed sometimes…but what had he done to piss her off so bad?

In fact the only thing he _had_ done was _save her life…_

_Stupid cat…can't even get a thank you… _Inuyasha stuck his nose in the air. _Keh... not like I wanted one anyways…._

Nevertheless he still kept a watchful eye on Kagome as she slowly made her way back to the hut.

--~~--

Kikyo limped into the hut and was immediately ordered by Kaede to lay face down on a sleeping mat.

"I need to take a look at that scrape on the back of your leg to see if it's healing well…"

Kikyo lowered herself down and lay on her stomach obediently. "Shouldn't it have healed already? How many days have passed since I got it?"

"Well you've been sick for nearly four days…and, yes, normally your body would've healed this kind of wound just a few hours after you got it…but because it was a _poisonous_ wound, it's taken a longer amount of time to get better."

Kikyo listened patiently as her sister explained what she already knew. She'd learned long ago, in her former life, just what kind of wounds healed fast and which took longer.

Kaede tightened the bandage around her leg with a professional tug, tying the ends in a neat bow to keep them from unraveling in the night. She then helped Kikyo turn over so she wouldn't hurt herself too badly.

Kikyo stared up at her sister, wondering at the effects of age that had changed her face. Kaede's once smooth youthful skin was now wrinkled and weathered, her hair turned a dull gray, her form fat and bent….but the most noticeable change was the fact that her right eye was gone… (at least that was what Kikyo_ suspected_ the eye-patch was for)

Kikyo suppressed her rising emotions and forced herself to turn on her side so she wouldn't have to look at her once younger sister.

_Tired?_

_Go away…_

_I truly pity you Kikyo…_

_Oh save it...I don't need any sympathy from a stupid girl like you…_

_Soooo…what are you planning to do? Get revenge on Inuyasha? Find the Jewel? What do you exactly have in mind, Kikyo?_

_And why should I tell you?_

_Because I'll eventually find out anyway?…_

_Then I guess you'll just have to wait until then…_

Kikyo relaxed when Kagome's voice didn't respond, and soon enough she was fast asleep, her mind slipping from consciousness.

--~~--

Kagome needed a plan…there had to be a way out of here…

So far the best hope she had was that Inuyasha or Kaede realized she wasn't acting like normal and then got suspicious…but who knew how long that would take??

She sighed, completely bored….she wasn't sleepy at all but now that Kikyo had gone to sleep there wasn't even anything to look at besides the back of her eyelids…

It sucked being able to see and feel everything, yet have no power to control anything… and how come Kikyo could read her thoughts? She didn't want some freaky girl digging through all of her memories…

_Well at least I remember everything now…when I was trapped in the meadow earlier I didn't seem to recall anything._

Kagome focused on going through her memories; that was pretty much the only thing she _could_ do anymore.

It was when she hit a wall that she got a bit confused…What was the meaning of this? Was Kikyo trying to keep her from remembering something?

Kagome sifted through her mind…nope… there didn't seem to be any huge gaps of missing information…so what exactly was this wall? Kagome probed a little, seeing if she could somehow get through to the other side.

After a while a tiny crack seemed to appear, and Kagome could fell herself being 'sucked' into the little chasm…

Where was she now?

Another meadow??

Kagome looked around and was surprised to see she had her body back, though it seemed a bit too transparent to be real. She walked in a circle, testing it out…well it worked so she might as well walk somewhere.

As she rounded a large tree, she froze in fear and surprise. Just a few feet away Kikyo was sitting on the ground in a meditative posture, a peaceful, almost humorous smile on her face. Kagome jumped back as a dark form suddenly dropped out of a nearby tree.

_Inuyasha? How did he get here?_

Kagome wanted to call out to him, wanting to make sure he knew she was here too…

But her vocal chords didn't seem to work because no sound was coming out of her opened mouth.

_Great. Just great…Now what am I supposed to--- Whoa! What the hell is going on?_

Kagome watched as everything around her began to fade… the meadow, Kikyo, Inuyasha, …her body.

And then she was back on the outside of the wall, the tiny crack tightly sealed.

_What was that all about? _

A thought suddenly struck her.

_Could that have been one of Kikyo's memories? That would explain the whole wall thing…I mean, she obviously wouldn't want me going through those… But then, it only makes sense that I would be able to, since she can go through mine…._

Interesting.

_I might have just found my way out of here…_

* * *

Well….it's been about, err…7 months since I've updated this story… I'm sooo sorry for taking this long. I was rereading the story and I got all excited, but then I realized I was the one who _wrote _it….so I've decided to keep going because I was annoyed that it just _ended_….

Hopefully my writing skills have improved in the past seven months because while the story was good, my sentences were short and choppy. So I hope to have fixed that little problem. :)

Love all the reviews I've gotten…so keep 'em coming to make sure I have the inspiration to keep going. I think last chapter only got 1 review. -._-. No wonder I quit writing this story…..jk jk…I'll keep going no matter how many reviews I get…..

Read N Review!

I'm working on the next chapter! I promise!

Thanx!

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	12. The Visit to the Shrine

Alrighty, moving forward now… this _is_ a new chapter…sorry if I've confused anyone… :)

Read, Review, Enjoy….

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha…

**Ok...this website is being retarded and erased some of the underlines that go under Kagome's thoughts...I've tried fixing it, but it just doesn't want to cooperate...sorry about that everyone...**

* * *

Chapter 12

Kikyo slid the silky fabric over her shoulders, loving the way it felt as it rubbed across her skin. Her old training clothes fit her new body perfectly, and she noticed that Kaede had taken the liberty to preserve them quite nicely, even going so far as to patch up a particularly nasty rip that used to spread from the shoulder to the stomach.

She slammed the door of the outhouse behind her after checking to make sure her tail was well out of the way, and started back to the hut. In her hands she held the bundle of dirty clothes that she'd been wearing for the last 2 days while she had been bedridden.

Kaede had finally declared her healed, and Kikyo was happy to finally be able to move easily without a blaring pain in her leg….besides, one more day stuck in that dark hut was more than she could take.

_Try being trapped **in** someone whos trapped **in **a hut..._

_I have…for 15 years…_

_Then you should feel my pain… let me out!_

Kikyo rolled her eyes at Kagome's complaint…she'd heard enough of them lately that she didn't even think twice when Kagome's voice appeared in her head.

_Nope…_

Kikyo dumped the load of clothes she carried in a bucket of water that was just outside the doorway and then reached up to push her hair away from her face. In her previous life she'd always kept her hair pulled back in a low ponytail with a headband to clear her bangs out of her eyes.

_Why haven't you cut these useless things?_

_Because I knew they would get on your nerves…_

_You know, somehow I don't find that hard to believe…_

_You better not cut them Kikyo…_

_And if I do?_

_Then I'm going to find a way to make you regret it…_

_Pfft, don't worry…I'm not going to cut your stupid bangs…I can't find a decent knife to do with anyways…_

_Oh, why **thank you**__ for your generosity…_

_Do I detect a hint of sarcasm in your voice?_

_Yes,…yes you do…._

Kikyo made her way inside and reached into a small cabinet, grinning in victory when she felt her hand curl around a smooth, soft material. She drew the thick black ribbon out of the cupboard and sliced it neatly in half with a sharp claw, securing one piece in her hair to hold it back, and the other around her head to clear her bangs.

_Ahh, much better…_

_Geez…I feel like a freakin' ninja…._

_Got a problem with that?_

_In fact I do…_

_Deal with it…_

_Alright, let me out of here and I will…_

_Nice try….but no…_

Kikyo walked outside again and stretched in the bright sunlight, relishing in the warmth of it as it beat against her face. Oh how she had missed the ability to_ feel _things! She stood there for a few more seconds, letting a quiet breeze brush past her, before taking off in a dead sprint towards the woods.

_Uh, where are we going?_

_Just be quiet and relax….I'm only going for a little warm-up run…_

_You do realize these woods are infested with demented hanyou right?_

_Of course…and that's only the half of it…there are __**much**__ worse things in these woods than a few angry hanyou…_

_Then why the heck are we running in here!!_

_I told you…I need to warm up…_

Kikyo leapt over a fallen tree gracefully, even flying above the ones that were still standing.

_How did you do that?_

_What? Jump?_

_Yeah…I've never jumped that high before…_

_You probably weren't using the right muscles…_

_There are certain muscles you have to use to __**jump**__?_

_Well yeah…_ Kikyo mentally rolled her eyes in exasperation.

_See if you can tell which ones I'm using when I jump next time…_

_Right…_

--~~--

Inuyasha stiffened when he saw something shoot through the canopy of trees, rising above all of the foliage and soaring a few feet, before sinking back down into the forest again. It had to be a hanyou…that or an actual youkai.

He walked away from the edge of the cliff, not too worried about the unidentified flying object, seeing as it was heading in the other direction. Nevertheless he found a place to stand where he could still watch the thing in case it changed direction.

Inuyasha leaned against the trunk of a tree and pulled out his newly acquired weapon, studying the chinks and rust for the umpteenth time since he'd gotten it. Myoga had never explained how it was able to transform into the huge blade it had been when he'd fought against Sesshomaru and that snake demon… and Inuyasha still had no clue what he'd done to make it react like that.

"Watcha' doing Inuyasha?"

The dog hanyou slid the old sword back into its case and looked up at Shippo, who was hanging upside down from a branch just above him. The little fox demon dropped from his limb and landed at Inuyasha's feet.

"Are you staring at that rusty old sword _again_?"

"What's that supposed to mean, you twerp?"

Shippo's eyes shone mischievously. "I can't believe you keep that useless piece of junk around…"

Inuyasha raised his fist menacingly. "I'll have you know this _useless piece of junk_ saved your life!"

"Are you sure? I was pretty sure you were using a much more impressive looking sword than that…."

"Why you! Come back here!"

Inuyasha chased after Shippo as the little kitsune danced away, only infuriating him even more.

"Just you wait till I get my hands on you, you brat!"

--~~--

Kikyo dashed into a clearing, loving the rush of adrenaline that was pumping through her veins, spurring her further. After running for an hour her reflexes and speed had reached a new level. Kagome's body was proving to be very athletic and nearly as agile as her old one.

_Sooo…where are we?_

Kikyo hadn't told Kagome, but they had made their way around the small village about 5 times now. She had secretly been studying the activities of a small shrine that was located on the far north side of the tiny community, making sure that the schedule was the same as it had been 50 years ago.

Kikyo planned to pay a short visit….

--~~--

Inuyasha had a frown fixed on his face…and not just because Shippo was being annoying, but because the creature leaping through the trees had circled around the village about 5 times now.

He was beginning to get a bit suspicious.

Inuyasha hauled himself off the ground and pinned Shippo with a stern glare.

"Stay here…I'll be back in a few seconds…"

"But I don't wa—

"Shippo," Inuyasha growled, "just shut up and do what I say…"

"Oh….fine…," Shippo grouched, crossing his arms petulantly.

Inuyasha sent one last glare for good measure and then took off into the woods.

….as soon as he was out of the clearing, Shippo hopped up and shot off after him.

--~~--

The wind was blowing in her favor, pushing her scent away from the shrine. Kikyo slinked out of the woods and quickly stepped up to the shrine doors.

It was 3 hours past noon and usually around this time the guards were switching shifts.

She sniffed the air as a precaution, and when she was satisfied, she opened one of the massive doors.

_Why are we being so sneaky…_

_You'll see soon enough…now be quiet so I can concentrate…_

Kikyo's eyes took only seconds to adjust to the dimness of the room, and she immediately began to scan the walls for a certain dresser. Upon finding it against the very back wall, she crept towards it stealthily, being careful not to stir up any dust lest it make her sneeze.

Kikyo reached a clawed hand out, carefully touching the worn handle of the cabinet. She jerked it back suddenly as the doors crackled with an angry yellow light.

"Damn," she cursed under breath.

_Kaede's sealed the doors…_

_And what exactly is behind those doors that's worth being sealed?_

Kikyo ignored Kagome's question and closed her eyes, thinking quickly.

_I have to find a counter spell that will allow me to reach through her barrier without dissipating it…that way nobody will know the doors have been opened…_

_What? Are you __**stealing **__something from a __**shrine**__? Why, if my Grandpa were here he would--..._

Ignoring Kagome yet again, Kikyo opened her eyes, convinced that she remembered how to get through the small barrier. She reached out once again, this time her claw tip glowing a faint white, and felt her hand slice through the transparent obstacle.

Her mouth curled up in a smirk as the cabinet door swung open, revealing a medium sized box. Kikyo reached in and opened the lid, a wave of anticipation growing in her chest.

When she looked into the box a grin split her face and her heart rate sped up in excitement.

It was still there.

--~~--

Inuyasha sat in a tree just outside of the shrine. He'd followed the unknown creature until he'd caught her scent, and then he began to stalk her with painful patience. What Kagome could possibly want from this dusty old shrine was beyond him, but his curiosity was forcing him to wait and see.

Thankfully the wind was blowing his scent away from the shrine, so Kagome wouldn't know he was spying on her. His gut was telling him to keep out of her way.

But he didn't really need a gut feeling to tell him to give her some distance; any interaction he'd had with Kagome for the past two days had been torture. She was rude and short with him, snapping at every word he said.

He'd thought that they had been on pretty good terms after facing Sesshomaru together, but apparently he was wrong.

She was more distant than ever, refusing even to make eye contact with him.

Inuyasha shook his head in an attempt to chase away these thoughts, stiffening as Kagome snuck out of the shrine doors and silently closed them behind her.

And then he caught sight of the object she held in her hands… he winced as his body automatically cringed away at the sight of it.

_How did she get her hands on that damn thing?_

His attention was suddenly diverted as Kagome performed an excellent leap over the trees, leaving just as the guards lumbered up the last few steps that led to the shrine. He cursed under his breath when they didn't come rushing back outside.

Kagome had made sure they wouldn't be able to tell she'd been there.

--~~--

Kikyo clasped her treasure close to her chest, her heart pounding wildly just at the feel of it in her hands. She soared over the trees, genuinely happy for the first time since before she'd died.

Oh how she'd missed her old comrade!

_And what exactly is this thing?_

_This, _Kikyo's lips curved up, _is my best friend._

_Wow, your social life must have sucked…especially if __**this**__ was your best friend…_

Not even Kagome's sardonic remarks could bring Kikyo down from this high, ecstatic feeling that had taken over…besides all she had to do was block Kagome out…

_Wait…no! Kikyo, stop it!_

Kagome's voice faded away as Kikyo pushed her to the back of her mind, effectively cutting off any communication between them.

_That's better._

Kikyo continued to leap through the trees, not stopping until she reached a little clearing 15 miles outside of town….

--~~--

Kagome sulked inside her little prison. She was getting sick of Kikyo doing this.

_Darn it…she's not asleep either, so I can't even go through her memories._

As of late, whenever Kikyo went to sleep, Kagome had been pushing through the little wall that blocked off the other girl's memories; each night becoming easier and easier for her to get through. Last night she had been able to stay in there long enough to see the rest of the meadow scene.

-

_Inuyasha snuck up on Kikyo,_ only to find he'd already been discovered. She'd waited until he was right behind her before spinning around. He fell back with a surprised yelp, his butt landing on a rather hard patch of earth, and glared up at the smirking girl.

"Inuyasha…haven't you learned by now that my hearing is superior to your sneaking skills."

"Shut up, ya damn cat!"

He stood up, grumbling about stupid cats and their stupid hearing abilities.

"What do you want this time, Inuyasha?" Kikyo asked, standing up herself and planting her hands on her hips. "Oh wait…I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're after the Hanyou Jewel, yet again."

"Keh"

"Why don't you just give up?"

Inuyasha backed away from her, his eyes gleaming in the dark shadows of the trees.

"_Because I never give up."_

_-_

Kagome had been thrust out of the memory just as Inuyasha had disappeared, her body disappearing along with him. Now that _that_ scene was over Kagome was eager to see which recollection she would be transported into next.

Her goal was to find a memory of a spell book or a spiritual lesson so that maybe she could form some kind of idea on how to get out of here. It had to be among those memories somewhere if Kikyo knew how it could be done.

Kagome sighed and watched through Kikyo's eyes as they landed in a small meadow.

_Wait…this couldn't be…_

But it was. She recognized it from Kikyo's memory.

They had landed in the very same meadow Kagome had seen just last night.

She gasped as Kikyo shifted the object in her hand, causing a strange pulse to shiver up her arm and through her body. Kagome tried to suppress the feeling of joy that coursed through her, knowing it was Kikyo's emotion and not her own.

_This thing can only cause problems… I don't like it one bit…_

And yet Kagome couldn't help but love the feeling of power that swept through her…hating herself because this time she knew it was her own emotion running through her.

* * *

Anyone want to take a guess at what Kikyo stole from the shrine?

A shout out and 2 virtual cookies goes to whoever can guess it right…

:D

Stay tuned for the next chap!

Read N Review!

Thanx!

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	13. The Weapon

And now everyone shall find out what it is that Kikyo stole from the shrine….nobody guessed it right, though some people got close…

:D

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha…

* * *

Chapter 13

Kikyo shuddered in delight at the sheer power that was pulsing under her claw-tips. Her whip hadn't lost a trace of its supremacy, and it began to tremble under the touch of its master. She allowed the thick cord to unroll fluidly and took a second to simply admire the full length of her weapon.

It was shiny and black, almost leathery looking, and stretched to the full length of 9 feet. Its appearance combined with the fierce aura it was giving off was enough to make any person, human or youkai, shiver.

_But, _Kikyo frowned,_ it seems tainted somehow…like there is an unfamiliar speck of black aura mingling with its own…_

She took a second longer to examine it, faintly wondering what could have gotten a hold of her precious whip while she'd been gone, before flicking her wrist and causing the whole thing to arc gracefully. A resounding snap echoed through the otherwise silent clearing and she smiled at the familiar sound.

She'd come to this clearing for a reason.

This small meadow held some of her fondest memories. This was the place she'd first learned to balance her Hanyou and Miko halves. The first place she'd fired and arrow. The first place she'd held Kokoro. The first place she'd met Inuyasha….

Kikyo shook her head and held her beloved Kokoro up in front of her again. She was only going to focus on her whip for now…not that stupid dog. She'd think about _him_ later.

_Alright Kokoro…you've still got your flare, let's see if I've still got mine._

She set her sights on a tree across the field, carefully focusing her energy into her hands. She took off at a full run, her speed and agility making her nothing more than a black blur.

--~~--

Inuyasha watched the cat hanyou shoot across the clearing, the dangerous weapon trailing behind her like a snake. He wasn't sure what she was aiming for, but her body language definitely stated that she was about to strike at something.

His amber eyes followed her carefully; he wanted to see if Kagome knew what she was doing. He hadn't seen that goddamn thing since the day Kikyo had sealed him to the tree. Inuyasha's hands unconsciously drifted down to the huge scar that encircled his waist.

Kagome was just about to the edge of the meadow now, and he studied her movements intently, waiting for the moment when she would lash out.

She leapt into the air, shifting her weight forward.

_Now!_

He watched as her hand shot out, sending the whip forward with practiced ease, and causing a bright yellow stream of light to follow after it.

The light disappeared in a flash and Inuyasha sat in silence, waiting for something to happen. Seconds later, Kagome rose out of the graceful crouch she'd landed in, and he stared as a nearby tree came toppling to the ground, neatly cut in half.

_What? I didn't even see her aim for that one! How did she—when did it…how in the** hell** does_ _**Kagome**_ _know how to use that thing?!_

He narrowed his eyes and watched the cat hanyou take off again, repeating the whole process, and causing another tree to meet its doom.

_No way…she's so fast…I can't even see where she's about to strike…it's just like back when Kikyo used it 50 years ago…_

Inuyasha shifted slightly, warily taking note that she was coming closer and closer to the tree he was currently perched in. He slipped to the ground, careful not to alert her of his presence, and began travelling away from the small clearing. The weight of his sword swinging from his hip instilled calmness on his suddenly rapidly beating heart.

The scene he'd just witnessed didn't sit well with him for some reason…it had been like watching a different Kagome….

_Something is wrong…but I just can't put my finger on it!_

_Dammit! I hate when this kind of thing happens….now it's gonna bug the hell out of me until I figure out what it is …_

_--~~--_

Kikyo quit chopping down trees, a satisfied smirk fixed on her face. She'd only targeted the dead ones so it was almost like trimming weeds in a garden.

Almost.

This was way funner in her opinion.

_Now…what were some of the exercises I use to do?…_

She racked her brain, trying to remember some of the basic drills she had done with her whip 50 years ago, and found nothing but silence. It was a little unsettling. There was no opinionated Kagome spouting unwanted opinions.

_Hmm…I wonder if she can see everything I'm doing? It's actually kind of boring without her around…_

Kikyo paused, appalled at her own thoughts.

_What am I thinking? It's **not** boring without her around! It's **normal **for crying out loud. I mean, a person is only supposed to have one voice in her head after all…_

The cat hanyou looked down at the weapon in her hand.

_Besides, who needs her? I've got Kokoro…_

She raised the whip once again and started working on simple slashing motions, targeting the movement of her wrist… Her technique wasn't what it used to be…but she had plenty of time to get back into old habits.

Kikyo spent at least another 2 hours in the meadow running through simple practices, trying to get herself in tune with her old friend again. But now the sun was starting to set, and she was almost positive she was being missed back at the hut.

She tucked Kokoro into its case and wrapped the case's strap around her upper thigh. What she was going to do with it when she got back to her sister's house though was still a mystery even to her. One thing she knew for sure…she _wasn't _going to let Inuyasha or Kaede see the whip.

If they did, it would cause questions…and questions lead to investigations….and those lead to suspicion…. No. She mustn't let them find out about the whip or she would be screwed.

Her ear twitched at a familiar growling sound, and Kikyo glanced down at her belly.

_Geez…this body asks for food all the time…it's not normal!..._

But then again, what was?

--~~--

Inuyasha was sitting in his corner listening to Kaede and Shippo have a conversation about onions. Apparently Shippo was quite the expert, seeing as he had lived off them for about a month during his wanderings.

But Inuyasha was actually only half listening. The other half of his mind was still pondering over Kagome and the whip that she had stolen.

_If I remember correctly that thing actually had a name…now what did Kikyo call it?...umm, Kokura? No…was it Koshiro? No, no ,no…._

He never had been good with names.

_Kotimo?_

That wasn't it either.

_But I'm almost positive it started with a K and ended with an O…_

"Kokoro…"

His ears perked up. _Yes! That's it! That's the name of…_

"Kikyo's whip. I've sealed it away in a shrine not too far from here. It's a very powerful weapon that could cause an extreme amount of damage of it wound up in the wrong hands. There is even an elite guard that watches over it 24/7."

How exactly Kaede and Shippo's conversation had gone from the topic of onions to that of Kikyo's whip, Inuyasha didn't know, but now they had his undivided attention. The information Kaede was about to reveal could prove to be useful in the future.

Inuyasha continued to act uninterested, not wanting Kaede to get suspicious of his sudden interest her deceased sister's whip. His hands folded into his sleeves and he leaned back against the wall, waiting for the conversation to continue.

"So," Shippo said, "Kikyo is the dead sister you were telling me about earlier, right? She was a cat hanyou, just like Kagome."

"That's right."

"How did she get a whip? Does it have like some kind of special cat hanyou abilities? What exactly does it do? Is she the only one that could use it? Can Kagome use it? I sure wish _I _had a weapon. Do you know someone who can make _me_ a weapon?"

Kaede stared at the kitsune in bewilderment, her hands frozen above the onions she'd been chopping and her mouth open slightly. Shippo just smiled up at her politely, looking as if it was completely normal to ask 7 questions in one breath.

"Er, well…I don't…I mean…can you just start over?" she sighed wearily.

"Ok! Umm, what was my first question again?" Shippo tapped his chin. "Oh yeah! How did Kikyo get a whip?"

Kaede resumed mincing her onions. "I actually have no idea…it's like she just suddenly had it one day. I don't know if someone gave it to her or if she found it or what--"

"Does it have any special abilities?"

"Well, I suppose…it did seem quite impressive the few times I _did _manage to see her using it—"

"So is she the only one who can use it?"

"No..."

The sound of Inuyasha's voice caused both Kaede and Shippo to turn and stare.

"And just how would you know that Inuyasha?" Kaede asked.

Inuyasha slumped.

_Crap…needanexcuseneedanexcuseneedanexcuse….think, Inuyasha think!_

"Keh…didn't you mention earlier that if it ended up in the wrong hands an extreme amount of damage could be caused?"

Kaede narrowed her eye at him and turned back to her onions. "Yes…yes I suppose I did," she said slowly.

"Stupid old woman," Inuyasha mumbled under his breath.

"So does that mean Kagome can use it?" Shippo chipped in.

"I think it may be possible, yes--"

"_I_ want a weapon! Kaede do you know anyone who can make _me _a weapon?"

Inuyasha turned away from the old woman and kitsune as they continued talking about weapon crafting.

_Well that information helped me **a lot...**_ he thought sarcastically_. I didn't learn anything new…_

The sun was beginning to set and Kagome still had not returned to the hut. A furious hissing came from the giant stew pot across the room as Kaede dumped the onions.

_Knowing that cat, she'll be back soon because of that bottomless pit she calls a stomach. I'm surprised she's managed to go practically all day without food…_

Kagome stepped into the hut at that moment, and Inuyasha's nose twitched at the strange scent that accompanied her, causing him to turn towards the door.

"And just where have you been, ya stinkin' cat?"

He already knew where she had been…but he needed to find out if she knew that.

She glared at him. "That's none of your business now is it?"

_Phew…obviously she didn't know I was there…_

His golden eyes followed Kagome as she gracefully sat down next to the fire and accepted a bowl of steaming stew from Kaede.

_Where is it? What did she do with it?_

She had on her training clothes, and as Inuyasha's gaze searched up and down her body he couldn't find any suspicious looking lumps.

_She's hidden it somewhere…_

"I've been thinking…"

Everyone turned to look at Kaede. She motioned Inuyasha over before continuing.

"I believe you should start on your journey tomorrow."

--~~--

_What? What journey?_

Kikyo furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What? You don't agree Kagome?"

Kikyo scrambled for an answer, not sure if she should agree with her sister or not.

_Kagome…what is she talking about?_

She focused on calling Kagome back into her mind.

_Kagome? I know you're there! You better answer me!_

Nothing.

"It's a great idea…if it was my choice we would've started _days _ago," Inuyasha said, unknowingly saving Kikyo.

The cat hanyou sat in silence, hoping that Inuyasha would reveal more about this trip he was so eager about.

_Seeing as **you're** no help at all…_

_--_

_--_

_And why do you think I should help you?_

_Finally…you almost had my hopes up…I thought you were gone for good._

_You're not that lucky…_

_So I've noticed…now fill me in on this 'journey' they keep talking about…_

"Kagome? Are you even listening?"

Kikyo focused on Kaede, only half aware of Kagome's presence in her head. "Y- Yes."

"Then you feel comfortable with leaving tomorrow morning? I know you've just recovered from that poison and we haven't practiced with your spiritual powers in a while…but I think you got the basics down so you'll be fine. Besides with Inuyasha along, you probably won't even have to use them."

"I'm going too!"

"No Shippo," Inuyasha growled.

"Why not! I can keep up! You know I can Inuyasha!"

"I said no…"

"Please!"

"No!"

"_Pleeeaaase!"_

The dog hanyou bowed his head in annoyance. "Fine! But I'm not taking care of you. If you get in trouble you're on your own."

"Pfft…I can handle myself…I don't see why you think you're so high and mighty," the little fox mumbled.

"What's that ya runt!? Care to say it to my face?"

"Anyways!" Kaede hastily interrupted, "Kagome are _you_ okay with this? You never got the chance to answer me," she said, throwing accusatory looks at Inuyasha and Shippo.

Kikyo waited for Kagome's answer.

_Yes…_

"Yes"

Kaede gathered empty bowls from everybody.

"Alright then--stop it you two!" She swatted at the two males who where currently making faces at each other. "It's settled; tomorrow you three will start on your journey to the Mountains of Intrigue to search for the Jewel."

_The Hanyou Jewel?_

_Yup…you made a prophecy concerning its whereabouts…remember?_

_I did what? I have no idea what you are talking about…_

_Sigh…lay down and I'll tell you a bedtime story…_

_--~~--_

If Kagome could, she would be grinning.

Kikyo had finally dropped off to sleep like a good girl, and now it was time to go exploring through her memories. Kagome felt the familiar sucking sensation as she passed into Kikyo's dreams.

_Alrighty then…what do we have here?_

She was (once again) in the meadow, but this time a young Kikyo of about 10 years or so, stood in the center looking very tense. Kagome followed the cat hanyou's gaze, the moonlight her only source of light. A pair of startling green eyes stared back from the forest edge where the tree shadows overlapped.

"Who are you?" Kikyo hissed, backing away as the green eyes drew closer, coming out of the shade of the trees and revealing a tall, _extremely _handsome man.

_No wait…he's a youkai…_

Kagome watched as the youkai raised a claw tipped hand, reaching for something strapped to his waist. She studied the small golden star that adorned his forehead (much like Sesshomaru's crescent) and the vivid black stripes that ran down his cheeks.

_The stripes remind me of a tiger…_

Without a word the man pulled a black case from under his dark cloak and tossed it neatly across the clearing. For a split second the object was framed against the full moon and Kagome felt her eyes widen in recognition.

_That…that's …the whip…_

The small cat hanyou across the field quickly dodged the flying item and glared at it suspiciously as it landed a few feet away from her. She sniffed cautiously, waiting for some sort of reaction from the motionless black case. Kikyo looked back up at the man who was still standing at the edge of the forest.

"And just what is this?"

The corners of his lips turned up, and he finally spoke. "It's a whisker from your father."

He suddenly turned sharply, his long dark hair flying, and shot off into the forest, leaving a speechless Kikyo and Kagome behind.

_What the? Was that her father?_

Kagome watched as Kikyo reached down and warily picked up the black case.

"A whisker from my father, eh?" she whispered softly. She slowly unfurled the flap of the holder and gasped as a bright golden light suddenly flared from inside it. Kagome moved closer so that she was practically looking over Kikyo's shoulder.

Inside the pulsing golden light was an extremely big _whisker_. At least that's what she thought it was… _I mean, the guy did say it was a **whisker **from her father…_

As though possessed by something, Kikyo suddenly shot her hand into the light and grabbed the whisker, drawing it out of the case. As soon as it was out of its holder, it elongated into the fierce weapon Kagome had seen earlier today.

Kagome walked around Kikyo so she could get a better view of her face. The 10 year old cat hanyou's eyes were slit, reflecting the gold radiance from the whip; a small smirk formed on her face.

"Tch…at least one good thing came from that bastard's death…it's too bad someone killed him before I could…"

_Okaaay…so maybe that man wasn't her father…_Kagome figured. _Kikyo's talking like he's already dead…but then again, I don't suppose her father would just randomly pluck off one of his whiskers and hand it to his hanyou daughter…it only makes sense that he's dead…._

Kagome watched as Kikyo traced the handle of the whip…

"Kokoro wo ubau hito…," Kikyo read.

Kagome shivered.

_That must be its full name…._

_Kokoro wo ubau hito…or in other words, Soul Stealer…._

As if Kokoro could somehow sense Kagome's soul standing invisible just next to Kikyo, it started shaking furiously. Kagome watched as the scene started to fade away…and then she was suddenly back outside of Kikyo's memory wall.

_Dammit…another wasted journey…I need to find a way to control which memories I go into…_

Kagome thought about the recollections she'd already been through, trying to find some sort of pattern between them.

_It's almost like whatever Kikyo thinks about during the day affects what memory I go into…_

Hmm.

_So if that's the case, all I need to do is make sure she thinks about spellbooks or something all day…_

_It's worth a shot…_

Kagome finally allowed herself to drift away into slumber, a pair of startling green eyes following her into her dreams.

_I wonder…who…that was….if …it …wasn't her…**yawn**…father…_

She imagined her eyes drifting shut.

_Oh..well…_

_It's not….like…**yawn** …I'll ever…see him…again…_

* * *

Okay! The journey starts tomorrow! So it'll be Kikyo, Kagome, and Inuyasha off together…

…and Shippo too…can't forget about him.

Stay tuned, things are about to get interesting!

**Read N Review!**

Thanx!

:D

_-PaintedWingsMoonlight_


	14. The Theory

OK…so I haven't updated in about--- 3 months. Eh heh heh… I won't even try to make excuses, 'cause there are none. :)

**So here is a little review in case you're rusty:** Kikyo has Kokoro (her whip) and doesn't want Inuyasha to know. Too bad he already does… he's still trying to figure out how Kagome (because that's whose body Kikyo has taken over) knows how to use it so well. Meanwhile Kagome has her own little problems to deal with. She's discovered that by making Kikyo think about a certain subject all day she can possibly influence which memory she goes into when Kikyo's asleep at night…. And who was the handsome youkai she encountered in last night's memory? To top it all off, the three (plus Shippo) have started on their journey to the Mountains of Intrigue to search for the Hanyou Jewel….

Enjoy!

:D

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha…

--~~--

Chapter 14

"Hurry it up, Shippo!" Inuyasha barked. "I knew we should have left you at home…"

Shippo glared up at Inuyasha from his position on the ground. "Like you're one to talk! Kagome's leaving you behind too!"

Inuyasha would have snapped a reply back at that statement…that is, if it hadn't have been true. From this point in the tree, Inuyasha could nearly see the whole path, including the distant black speck that was Kagome. _How is it that she's the one leading us? She doesn't even know where the Mountains of Intrigue are!_

Inuyasha ground his teeth in annoyance before slipping off his tree branch and landing in a crouch next to Shippo, causing dust to fly and the small kitsune to cough.

"Watch it Inuyasha! I have sensiti—"

"Get on…"

"Huh? You're going to carry me on your _back_?"

"I said _get on _Shippo…"

"Hmpf…_fine_. But I'm only taking a short rest. I don't need you to carry me the whole way."

"I don't plan on it."

The small fox clambered onto Inuyasha's back, using the hanyou's ear as a handle to pull the rest of his body up.

"Watch it runt…"

Inuyasha stood, his passenger now happily settled, and shot off after the disappearing Kagome, determined to catch up. No way was he about to be outdone by that stupid _cat. _

--~~--

Kikyo flew through the air, leaving Inuyasha and the little fox demon even further behind. So far she'd done a good job of staying ahead of them.

_Spell books…_

_Huh? What the heck?_

_Spiritual lessons…_

_Kagome? What are you talking about?_

_Oh! Don't mind me… spellbooksspellbooksspellbooksspirituallessonsspellbooksspellbooks_

_Will you stop that!? It's annoying…I can't think of anything over your stupid ranting!_

_Good…spellbooksspellbooksspellbooks_

_You must not realize how close I am to putting yo—_

_Hey Kikyo…Inuyasha's catching up. You'd better find somewhere to hide that little weapon of yours…_

Kikyo growled, but glanced behind herself nevertheless. And it was indeed true. Inuyasha was now carrying that little redheaded boy and gaining on her fast. Her eyes flitted down to her leg where her whip was tightly secured. Luckily this morning she'd been able to sneak away from the other two and get the whip from the knothole she'd hidden it in. But now she was in trouble; she didn't have anywhere to hide Kokoro without Inuyasha being able to sense or see it.

_Damn…_

_Maybe you should use a concealing __**spell…**_

_I hate to agree with you…But that may be my only option…_

_Well then go head and use it…and make sure you think long and hard about it._

Kikyo didn't know what was up with Kagome's sudden obsession with spells, but right now, she other things to deal with. _Alright concealing spell it is. _She quickly focused her spiritual energy to the part of her leg where the whip was attached and chanted a few words under her breath. Kokoro slowly disappeared until it appeared as though nothing was there.

_That should do it…_

--~~--

She was trying to hide it…

Inuyasha could still faintly detect the aura of the whip that was attached to her thigh, but only because he knew was there. She must have used a concealing spell.

_And how the heck would Kagome even know how to do advanced spiritual crap like that? I thought Kaede said she only knew the basics…It's almost like Kikyo has taken over her body or some crazy shit like that…._

He held back a snort at the absurd idea. How could that even be possible; another person taking over someone else's body? Yeah right. Besides that, Kikyo was dead.

A memory stirred from somewhere deep in his mind. A memory that involved a sunset, a cat hanyou from 50 years ago…and a kiss. _What had she said that day? Gah! Here we go again! It's something important I should remember, but can't! I swear I'm going to go crazy…_

"Hey Inuyasha! Are you listening!?"

The dog-hanyou shook his head distractedly and stared over at Kagome. "What, wench?"

Her glare intensified. "I said we should probably go ahead and stop. We've been going all day, and now the sun is starting to set."

"Keh, you tired already?"

"No! I'm just hungry. This stupid bod—," she cut herself off quickly, eyes wide. "Uh, I mean, this stupid body of _mine_ is always starving. I'm a growing teenage girl, so I need my food."She faced away from him and let the pack she was carrying on her back thud to the ground. "If either of you want any food, you'd better come grab some."

_What was that all about? She looked scared for a second there…_

Inuyasha's thoughts suddenly scattered as Shippo slid off his back, somehow managing to tangle his little feet in Inuyasha's long silver hair. "Are you _trying _to get killed? Because I swear, you've got about 10 seconds to disentangle yourself before I start punching…"

The little demon neatly pulled himself free and ran over to Kagome, hiding behind her legs. "Make him stop! He's always threatening to kill me or leave me behind…," he whined.

The cat hanyou patted the seemingly flustered boy on his head and shot an icy glare in Inuyasha's direction. "Don't worry, I'll get him back for you Shippo."

_Geez…since when did Shippo and Kagome become best friends? Far as I know they haven't even spoken but, like, twice…Stupid ungrateful twerp…What's he up to?? _And then out loud, "Keh, as if a _little_ fox demon and a _cat _could ever do anything to _me…" _

"Oh yeah?" Kagome shot back. "Let's see how long you last without food…"

Inuyasha stared at her as she waved a pre-cooked and spiced fish in the air, taunting him. "Smells good, doesn't it Shippo? You want some?" The little demon nodded in approval and followed her as she made her way over to Inuyasha.

As much as Inuyasha hated to admit, the fish smelled _really_ good…and he was hungrier than he thought. His chest vibrated in a growl of frustration as she walked over to him and cleared a spot on the ground so she and Shippo could sit and eat.

His stomach growled, and an evil grin split her face as she looked up at him. "Hungry?"

His temper spiked. "Yes," he bit out, "yes, I am."

"That's too bad…"

_We'll see about that…_

--~~--

Kikyo knew she was playing with fire when it came to Inuyasha's temper. And apparently being sealed to a tree for fifty years hadn't done much to change that fierce attitude of his… But she never expected him react like this...

She'd been sitting on the ground next to the little fox, slicing the tasty fish down the middle when she'd heard him shift and move. She'd instantly looked up, ready to ask Inuyasha where he thought he was going…

…And then suddenly she was flat on her back a couple of meters away with an Inu-hanyou perched on top of her. The impact of his body pummeling her over had caught her off guard, and Kikyo let down her cool façade for a second as she tried to figure out just what the _hell _was going on.

_Who does he think he is? _

She snarled and wriggled, trying to escape from the dead weight that was pinning her to the hard forest floor.

_Well, well, well…this is, what, the third time he's had me in this position? _

_What!? What do you mean? What exactly have you been __**doing**__ with this dog?_

_Do I detect a hint of jealousy?_

_No… why would I be __**jealous**_?

_You tell me…_

"Hmm…I was expecting you to fight back a little more than this…"

Kikyo snapped back into focus, forgetting the conversation she'd been having in her head with Kagome. "What do you think you're doing, Inuyasha?! Get..off…me!" She heaved her hips up, trying to dislodge him. If he wanted a fight, then boy, she was more than willing to give him one…probably more than he would ever know…

_Curse this whole 'hiding in somebody's body' plan…if only he knew who I was. Then we could __**really**__ settle things…_

"Now be a good kitty and sit still while I eat your fish…"

Inuyasha held her hands down with one hand and then turned around to order Shippo to bring him some food. Kikyo continued to squirm and buck, giving him as much trouble as she could. "Inuyasha! If you so much as even _touch_ my fish, I will _kill _you!"

He turned his body back around, so she could see his expression. "Too late," he grumbled, "Shippo already ate the whole thing and is currently in the process of cleaning out the entire food bag…"

_So that's what that brat was up to… I knew something was going on when he suddenly ran to me for protection…_

Inuyasha lowered his face so that it was only a few inches away from her own.

"Looks like we're _both _out of luck Kagome…"

--~~--

It was always fun to make her squirm. Of course, he'd been a little surprised when Kagome's eyes had glazed over and her body went slack, without even resisting his sudden attack… But when he spoke, he had her back in seconds, eyes very much focused and burning with an extreme will to fight.

_Is she holding some kind of grudge against me? Sure I'm about to steal her food, but does that really call for __**this**__ type of battle aura?..._

His stomach growled again, and Inuyasha turned away from her only to see an empty plate, and a suspiciously missing fox demon. _Damn. Looks like the stupid kid took off with the food bag…_

He turned back around and smirked down at the furious cat hanyou as she threatened to kill him if he even so much as _touched_ her precious fish. "Too late," he replied, "Shippo already ate the whole thing and is currently in the process of cleaning out the entire food bag…" Inuyasha lowered his face so that their noses were nearly touching.

"Looks like we're _both_ out of luck Kagome."

Kagome stared up at him quietly for a second, her face a mixture of hurt and longing, and her eyes uncertain. But in a heartbeat her emotions shifted back to angry coolness, and she stilled her whole body before opening her mouth to tell him something.

"Get off me. You stink."

Either she was pointing out the fact that he had bad body odor, or she was saying, that as a dog hanyou, he smelled bad. In any case, he was insulted.

"Ya know, you don't exactly smell that great either! In fact you smell just like," he took a deep whiff, "like a stinkin' cat!"

"So then get off me!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Inuyasha rolled off Kagome and leapt into a tree where he could be alone. He had to stay away from her. He knew something had been off about her smell, and now he finally realized what it was.

_Kikyo…it's not strong, but it's definitely there. _

Inuyasha didn't know how or why, but he wouldn't put it past that bitch to somehow still have influence in the living world. What with all the spiritual crap she used to do.

There was one thing he _was_ sure about though… If Kikyo was somehow involved with Kagome, then something bad was bound to happen sooner or later…and it would probably happen to _him_.

--~~--

Kikyo sat up off the ground, running her claw tipped hands through her hair. She drew in a shaky breath, and hung her head. _What am I trying to do? I'm here to get revenge right? To make Inuyasha pay for what he did to me… So why can't I do it?_

She placed a hand on her heart and willed it to stop thudding in her chest. _What a bother…how can he still make me feel like this? _

Kikyo stood up and made her way to the opposite side of the clearing, making sure she was as far away from that annoying hanyou as possible.

_Or perhaps, _she thought loudly, _these aren't really__** my**__ emotions. They must be yours…_

Kagome responded instantly.

_How can they be my feelings!? I just met the guy…_

_Well they can't possibly be mine…I hate him._

_So then whose are they?_

_Yours obviously…_

_Ok, I admit, he's not that bad to look at as far as eye candy goes. And before my body got kidnapped by a freaky girl, we'd been getting along rather well together…but that does __**not**__ mean I have any feelings for Inuyasha…__**You're **__the one that has a long and painful past with him…So therefore, __**you**__ are the one that still has some kind of twisted attraction to him…_

_Oh please, __**you're**__ the one that's been in strange compromising positions with him__** at**__**least**__ three times.…_

_**You're**__ the one that's jealous of that…._

_It's __**your **__body's____heart that's beating so fast…_

_And just __**who**__ is controlling my body at the moment?_

_Oh shut up. I'm going to sleep, so drop it…_

_You started it…_

Kikyo frowned as she curled up against the bottom of a tree trunk, still annoyed at the way she had reacted to Inuyasha. By now the sun had dipped below the horizon, and she was ready to escape reality…and Kagome.

--~~--

Kagome pushed her way through Kikyo's memory wall, eager to see if her 'Make-Kikyo-Think-Of-Something-All-Day-And-Then-End-Up-In-A-Certain-Memory' theory was correct.

She found herself on what looked to be a dock that jutted out into a river. Near the end of the long walkway, Kikyo and Inuyasha were framed against a vibrant sunset, locked in an embrace. The situation made Kagome think that perhaps Kikyo had tripped and landed in Inuyasha's arms, because as she drifted closer to the couple, the tenseness in the air seemed to shift to awkwardness.

Kikyo slowly lifted her head to stare up at the dog hanyou that had caught her, and Kagome let out a surprised gasp as Inuyasha suddenly dipped his head down and captured Kikyo's lips.

_Aw great…I've come just in time to watch a steamy make-out session… __**Apparently**__my theory was wrong. This isn't exactly a memory that's going to help with my escape plot._

Kagome turned her head away from the two, her chest aching in an unfamiliar way. _Why am I getting all worked up about this? Man, I can barely breathe… _She placed a hand on her chest, and felt her eyebrows draw together in confusion. _Don't tell me…I couldn't possibly…_ Kagome paused and peeked over her shoulder at the couple, her heart clenching. _Oh. My. God. I like him. I think I__** like**__ him…What…How?? When did this happen???_

"Inuyasha?"

Kagome turned herself around at the sound of Kikyo's voice, wondering what she could have to say while in such an intimate position with Inuyasha.

"Yeh…What is it?"

"Nothing…this just reminds me of something I read today…"

Inuyasha's ears twitched, and he stared at her with half-lidded eyes. "Tell me about it."

Kikyo ducked her head again. "Well, it was some stupid spell book that I had managed to find buried in the shrine….And I was reading about youkai that could possess people." She lifted her head again and met his eyes. "It said that the only way for a possessed person to regain control…

Kagome listened closely.

..was to kiss someone of the opposite sex…"

--~~--

Sorry for such a long wait… I humbly apologize. :)

Read-N-Review…

Thanx!

-_PaintedWingsMoonlight_


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